Close Quarters
by cojack
Summary: C/7. AU where Voyager is destroyed when unable to eject its warp core during the episode "Day of Honor" and the crew find themselves left in a fleet of escape pods.
1. Teaser

DISCLAIMER: It's Paramount's galaxy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: C/7. AU where Voyager is destroyed when unable to eject its warp core during the episode "Day of Honor" and the crew find themselves left in a fleet of escape pods.

I've decided to try something different for me and write the five AUs from "Possibilities" simultaneously. I'll post the first chapter "teaser" for each over the next few days and then go from there (expanded from what was in the original). Reviews are always welcome.

#

CLOSE QUARTERS

Stardate 51026.5

"All systems are ready," I say.

Lieutenant Torres looks at the small group in Engineering preparing for the test. I'm beside Lieutenant Paris at the primary warp core console while Ensign Vorik is at the port secondary station. I'm surprised others in Engineering aren't paying closer attention. "We're only going to take a peek," Torres says. "We open a conduit, get as much sensor data as we can, then close it up. I want to take this one step at a time."

Lieutenant Torres seems agitated, and I suspect part of the reason is my presence. I have tried to comply with her every order, no matter how illogical or ill informed. The main deflector has been reconfigured and we're ready. Everything appears fine for the test, such as it is.

The Vulcan Engineering officer Vorik looks up from his station. "I've set up a temporary tachyon matrix within the main deflector. It's online."

Lieutenant Torres touches her comm badge. "Engineering to the bridge. We're ready to start, Captain."

" _Go ahead. We'll monitor your progress from here_."

Torres starts pacing about the warp core. "We'll need to be at warp speed to create a large enough subspace field. I'd like to reroute helm control to Engineering."

" _Agreed. Janeway out_."

Lieutenant Torres turns to Lieutenant Paris. "Take us past…"

"Past warp two," Paris interrupts. "I know." He appears irritated and moves off to the starboard secondary station. Undoubtedly the result of yet another complex social structure that is unfamiliar to me. We… I am finding it a difficult challenge to integrate into this group. Helm is now routed through the starboard secondary station, and soon enough the core engages and we are at warp. Paris looks up from his station. "We're at warp two point three."

"All right. Vorik, start emitting the tachyons," Torres says. Strictly speaking, it would have made more sense to put me in control of the tachyons. These people have no idea of what they are doing. Instead, Lieutenant Torres has put me in charge of monitoring the transwarp frequencies.

"Energizing the matrix," Vorik replies.

"There's no indication of a subspace field. I recommend switching to a higher energy band," I say. Vorik complies.

"That did something," Paris says from the helm.

"The subspace field is forming," I confirm.

There's a problem and I see it immediately. Alarms sound and the transwarp frequencies become unstable. Torres moves over next to me and takes over the console. "Tachyon particles are leaking into the propulsion system," she says with alarm.

"Shut down the deflector," Paris remarks.

"Done," Vorik replies. "But the leak is continuing."

There's a discharge from the starboard station, undoubtedly due to a power surge from the quantum matrix. No one is hurt, but if the tachyon problem persists, it could jeopardize the core.

" _Janeway to Engineering_."

"The tachyons are flooding the warp core, Captain," Torres replies. She is trying desperately to isolate the cause and I'm trying to help as best I can at the same console.

" _If you can't stabilize the core immediately, evacuate Engineering_."

"Aye, Captain. I'll get back to you," Torres says back.

"I've cut all power relays, but the tachyon levels are still rising." This is from Vorik.

"All right, everybody out! Now!" Torres shouts. I'm still working at the console. The problem might involve a feedback loop in the dilithium chamber. She turns to me and adds, "That means you as well."

"I could be of help," I protest.

"That's an order."

Not a wise choice in my estimation, but it is pointless to protest. Lieutenant Torres would not likely accept my advice anyway and it would waste time. It is clear she didn't want me in Engineering in the first place. Only Captain Janeway and Lieutenant Paris seem comfortable around me. Perhaps others. Commander Chakotay was amenable to my request for a duty assignment in the first place. Torres and Paris stay in Engineering, but only for a short time. When they enter the corridor and the doors slide shut behind them, Torres says "Computer, eject the warp core."

We hear the sound of air rushing out of Engineering, but nothing else happens.

" _Sequence malfunction. Unable to eject warp core_."

I sense those around me tense. The vacuum now inside Engineering might buy us some time, but won't stop the inevitable with the core still connected to ship's systems.

"How long to breach?" Torres asks the computer. The computer, however, doesn't reply. Lieutenant Torres touches her comm badge. "Torres to Janeway. We're unable to eject the core. Breach is eminent, I estimate less than five minutes. We have to abandon ship."

Immediately the alarms sound throughout the ship. Those in the corridor move off towards the outer hull and the escape pods located there. I stand for a moment unsure exactly where to go. I've read the appropriate Star Fleet manuals, but have not been properly drilled in the procedure as required by the regulations. I have no assigned escape pod. No matter. There are more than enough escape pods on this level according to the schematics, and so I move off to a section I know will have ample space. It's possible the core is going to breach at any moment.

I choose an empty pod, but don't close the door expecting others might need it as well. No one else enters for a full minute. I hear other pods sealing and detaching from the hull. I'm about to do the same, when I hear someone out in the corridor. Whoever it is steps up to the entry to my pod and turns to look back. I hear the chirp of his comm badge.

"We're all clear here Captain. Time to go."

I know who it is even before he ducks his head and steps into the pod. Why did it have to be him? Earlier, Lieutenant Torres had asked me if I regretted my actions as a Borg. If I had any remorse for assimilating the Caatati and destroying the lives of billions. I said no. Of course I said no, for I have no reference for which to compare. Remorse, joy, compassion, hatred, love. These are emotions for which I have no baseline. But as I look at him, I know that's not entirely true. Some of his memories are still with me although I've tried to suppress them. And some of mine as well I thought long forgotten… The pod itself is designed for up to six people, and so he doesn't notice me. The door slides shut and a moment later the two of us are ejected into space. Thrusters immediately engage and are on full to get as much space between us and _Voyager_ before the core breaches.

He notices I'm in there with him after the explosion and moments before the shock wave hits. Is it surprise I detect in his expression, or suspicion? I cannot say. "Hang on," he says, and we both brace for the impact of the shock wave. After that, the escape pod with us inside is tossing about like a mote of dust caught in a maelstrom.

I awake and he is leaning over me. My head is throbbing and there is a sharp pain in my side. He's holding what appears to be a medical tricorder and I hear the scan stop.

"How are you feeling?" he asks. His tone strikes me as odd, or at least different. In the short time I've been on _Voyager_ , no one has spoken to me in such a manner before. It takes me a moment to register what the inflection in his voice implies. He is concerned for my well-being.

"I am damaged," I respond.

He closes the tricorder and puts it aside. "I've done what I can to stop the flow of blood," he says. "The nanoprobes in your bloodstream appear to be making the remaining repairs on their own. I think you're going to be okay."

I glance down at my side and notice my silver biosuit is torn and a red-stained bandage is covering a portion of my abdomen just above my right hip. The floor is slick and stained with blood.

"When the shock wave hit, we were tossed about pretty hard," he says as a way of explanation. "You hit your head and lost consciousness, and your side was impaled by a plasma inducer that came out of its mount."

I see the instrument he was referring to set on the console behind him, still glistening red with my blood. Beside it are bandages he must have used as well. The panel above the console appears powered down. In fact, the entire escape pod appears to be in a low power mode.

"What is our status?" I ask.

He stands and looks about. "I'm rebooting the systems and trying to salvage what I can. We currently have no sensors, communications, or thrusters and limited life support."

"What of the others?"

He looks at me curiously. I realize that I had spoken with some concern in my voice, very similar to his tone from earlier. I do feel concern about the well-being of the rest of _Voyager_ 's crew. He sees that too. "We've had no contact with any of the other escape pods." He nods towards the pod's single porthole. "Visually, I can't see anything save for some debris from _Voyager_ and the warp core explosion, but I've only just glanced about. A thorough visual search might turn something up."

He, of course, has not performed the search because he's been tending to me. I shift myself to sit up. It is made easier by the fact that the artificial gravity in the escape pod appears to be about half of standard. He reaches out and helps me. "I can assist in trying to get sensors and communications back online," I say. I want to be helpful.

I think he's about to protest, but nods and helps me position myself in front of the escape pod's controls. He holds me carefully and his hand lingers to ensure I'm steady. The reboot sequence is nearly complete.

"What happened back there, in Engineering?" he asks as he moves to the porthole. He's going to conduct the visual scan of the area as he just suggested. I can see a bit of debris tumbling nearby but nothing else from my vantage point.

"Tachyons flooded the warp core and induced a feedback loop in the dilithium chamber," I state.

"Who was controlling the deflector and the tachyon burst?"

"Ensign Vorik."

"Have the Borg ever encountered such a malfunction in their transwarp cores before?"

"No," I reply. He is suspicious and it is clear he believes I had something to do with the accident. I can't see his face for he is looking out the porthole, but I can hear it in his voice. "You believe I had something to do with the malfunction."

He turns to look me in the eye. "I don't deny the thought crossed my mind."

"You don't trust me," I reply. I know it's true. He hasn't said it in so many words, and he has been nothing but professional this past week. My first week as a liberated drone. But… I have heard his thoughts… and he has heard mine. Many of the _Voyager_ crew see me as a threat, and I suspect he does as well.

"You've made it clear your desire to return to the Collective," he responds. "You attempted to contact the Borg at your first opportunity and told the Captain you would one day betray us. No. I don't trust you."

"Commander. I am unaccustomed to deception. Among the Borg it was impossible. There were no lies, no secrets. And I assure you I had nothing to do with the accident in Engineering."

His stare makes me uncomfortable, but outwardly I remain unfazed. I can almost imagine what he is thinking, and I suspect he can imagine my own thoughts. Memories of his play through my head unbidden. Memories from the link. Is it the same for him? "I believe you," he finally says. He seems relieved. I know he is a man of integrity and I believe he is also sincere. He returns to the porthole.

What do I say now? "Can you see any other escape pods?" I finally ask.

He shakes his head. "Not yet. We're slowly rotating, so I'll keep looking. I think we're going to have to wait for you to get sensors or communications back online."

"I'll do my best," I reply, and with a start I realize, I truly want to. It is as if a switch has been turned in my head. The Borg, the ideal of perfection, the desire to return to the Collective. These thoughts are now compartmentalized in a far corner of my mind and have been replaced by a different imperative. I must prove myself to these people. Help them recover from this disaster.

I must prove myself… to him.


	2. Found

Chapter 2 – Found

"Try now Commander," Seven said after reconfiguring the escape pod's communications circuit for the fifth time. Repairing the damaged systems on the escape pod was proving to be a challenge.

Chakotay cleared his throat. "This is Commander Chakotay broadcasting on all frequencies, can anyone hear me?"

Seven examined the readouts. Everything appeared to be operating within specified parameters, but they still were not receiving a response. The input signal was strong, and the diagnostics of the outgoing antenna checked out. "We are broadcasting Commander," she finally said. "Your message is getting out and should be easy to receive. It's possible _our_ receiving antennae was damaged to a greater extent than we previously thought and we're unable to pick up a reply because it is emanating from a source that is too distant."

Chakotay frowned. "For all we know, many of the escape pods could be in the same shape we are," he said. "Keep sending that last message on all channels, perhaps we'll eventually get a response." He then moved to the other side of the escape pod to sit in one of the seats along the far wall from the operations console. There were three on each side forming a rough semicircle at that end of the pod. He pulled his hand through his short black hair and then crossed his arms. He appeared fatigued. "What's the status on our sensors again?"

Seven glanced back to the appropriate display. "Still running that level four diagnostics," she replied.

"On our initial scan, we did potentially locate several pods in our general vicinity."

"We can't trust those readings. That's why we're running the diagnostics."

"We could use thrusters to move to the coordinates. See what might be there."

"We'd potentially be chasing sensor ghosts," Seven said and tapped the console, as if to try and speed up the process. "I advise we wait."

Chakotay nodded and leaned back in the seat, his eyes half closed. "I know. When the sensors do come back on-line, we'll go and rendezvous with them then. I'm just getting antsy. I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. How long has it been since the explosion?"

"Fourteen hours, twelve minutes, thirty-two seconds," Seven replied automatically. If she wasn't careful, she found that she often still sounded like a drone. Normally she wouldn't care, but something had changed. At the very least, she was more conscious of it. She wondered if it had to do with her proximity to Commander Chakotay. Not only was it the most contact she had had with another human before, but they were in constant and close proximity and he also happened to be the person whom she had linked minds with. That experience, and his memories, were becoming easier to recall.

Chakotay closed his eyes and slouched back even further. He did need sleep, and Seven resolved to try not to disturb him. She was just about to turn back to the operations console when he sat back up quickly and startled her. "What about you? The Borg alcoves in _Voyager_ 's cargo bay have all been destroyed. Are you able to ingest food yet?"

She had thought of that earlier. What surprised her was the concern she detected in his voice again. Just over a week ago this man had tried to kill her, and more recently than that he essentially had accused her of sabotage and causing the warp core breech. Granted, in that first instance, she was still connected to the Hive Mind and attempting to take the ship into fluidic space… "The Doctor said I would soon be able to do so, but I would still need to regenerate to sustain my remaining Borg components. I can go several days, however, without regenerating," Seven assured him.

"The alcoves are gone," Chakotay reminded her soberly. "Can you go without regenerating indefinitely?"

Now Seven frowned. "No," she said. "Eventually my cortical node will cease to function if I don't regenerate, and likely I won't survive if that occurs."

"What can we do?" Chakotay said, now fully awake and sitting on the edge of the seat. Again, his concern seemed incongruent to his previous actions. Seven had recently witnessed, however, various random acts of kindness within the _Voyager_ crew. Obviously the First Officer was not immune to such behavior. "Is there another way of regenerating without an alcove?"

Seven nodded slowly. "As a matter of fact, as we've been awaiting the results of the level four diagnostics on the sensors, I've been considering the alternatives," she said. "If one of _Voyager_ 's shuttles survived the explosion, we can use its warp core to generate the correct energy and channel it to a Borg power interface in my wrist."

Chakotay visibly relaxed. "All the shuttles were launched as part of the evacuation," he said. "Hopefully they're looking for us now in one or more of them." He leaned back in his seat carefully. "This has been done before?"

"Yes," Seven confirmed. "A Borg drone was recovered by the Federation ship _Enterprise_ on Stardate 45854.2. The _Enterprise_ crew fashioned a power interface in their brig to supply the drone with the necessary energy. I believe I could fashion a similar interface to function in the same manner."

Chakotay leaned back forward. "I remember reading about that incident."

"You may know more than I do in that case," Seven replied. "The reintegration of the drone created a disruption in the Hive Mind. Twelve percent of the Borg were lost in the incident and certain memories were purged from the Borg consciousness as a result."

"You're kidding," Chakotay replied dumbfounded.

Seven looked at him curiously. "No I'm not," she finally said in return.

Chakotay smiled and shook his head. He appeared again to be settling back down for a nap, although his eyes remained open. "What about constructing an interface and using what we have in the escape pod?"

Seven glanced about. "I perhaps could fashion a crude interface, but the energy in the escape pod would be insufficient to allow me to regenerate efficiently."

"It's not intended for long-term survival anyway," Chakotay commented. "With just the two of us, I imagine we could go for a few months on what we have."

Seven nodded. "I would estimate about that much time for me as well before my cortical node suffered irreparable damage."

The two of them remained quiet for a time, and then Chakotay sighed and stood back up. He moved over to the porthole and looked out. The porthole was on the escape pod's door and close to the control panel where Seven sat. The pod's thrusters had long stabilized the motion and so now only a limited view was available. They were far from any system, the closest star being a red dwarf about a light year away and visible at the periphery of the porthole's view.

"Commander," Seven said. "Do not lose rest on my account. I assure you, I can go several days without regenerating. I will wake you when I find something after the sensor diagnostics is complete."

"I'm tired, but my mind is racing," Chakotay replied. " _Voyager_ 's gone, and we're cooped up here in this escape pod. We have no idea of the condition of the rest of the crew. I feel unsettled and... claustrophobic."

Seven looked about the interior of the pod. "This escape pod is luxurious compared to what it could be."

Chakotay continued to look out the porthole, but then turned to look at Seven. He was thinking of something, trying to piece together thoughts in his mind. "That's what it is," he said absently.

Seven didn't understand. "Clarify."

Chakotay stepped up to Seven. "I've been having this feeling of deja-vu for some time now and have been trying to figure out why. It suddenly occurred to me. It's a memory of yours. You were once in an escape pod. You were trapped, I think."

Seven nodded. She had recalled the same memory hours before and now she could remember the time vividly. "When I was five," she stated. "My parents would have drills and I once inadvertently locked myself inside the escape pod and was stuck for three hours."

"You were frightened," Chakotay commented.

"Yes." Some other memories from the _Raven_ came to mind. "Ironically, when a real emergency did occur, when those Borg drones came aboard our ship, I hid under a console instead. Not that retreating to the escape pod would have made any difference."

Chakotay closed his eyes and cringed. "If I think about it, I can remember that as well," he said. "And... other things. Curious. I don't recall those memories surfacing when we were linked. I remember you running in a field. And being held by your parents. Of them calling your name."

Seven nodded. Chakotay had called her Annika during the link. The neural link occurred just one week before. It was how the _Voyager_ crew had distracted Seven when they initiated the power discharge and disconnected her from the Collective. Her mind and Chakotay's were linked, and during that time, they shared not only their thoughts but these memories as well.

"I haven't recalled any of your memories in the past week," Chakotay continued. "Why now?"

"We were linked for forty-two seconds," Seven replied. "On the conscious and sub-conscious level. Our minds were combined as one."

Chakotay frowned. That didn't quite answer his question. "I thought that was the end of it. It's not as if we've been dwelling on these memories or the link." he remarked.

"That's the point," Seven replied. "We've had limited interaction with each other in the past week. In time, these memories would have naturally dimmed and perhaps never surfaced. Our continued interaction over the past fourteen hours and accessing them now is only easing their recall."

"I'm sorry," Chakotay said. "I feel like it's an invasion of your privacy."

Seven paused and looked up at Chakotay. "The transfer was reciprocal Commander," she said softly. "I have access to your memories as well."

"Oh," Chakotay replied with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty. "I hadn't thought about that either."

Seven wondered if she should tell him how his memories were now allowing her to better process her emotions in the current set of circumstances. Full disclosure was only fair. He had again turned to look out the porthole, but was still standing close. She tentatively reached out her hand to touch his and noticed her arm incased in the silver dermaplastic garment the Doctor had fashioned for her. So unlike the Borg armor she had worn for the past eighteen years. Despite the Borg implants on her hand, she appeared so… human. With each passing day, she felt more human. Before she had a chance to touch his shoulder, a signal went off on the communications display. She turned back and studied the readout. "An incoming signal," she said. "It's source appears to be approaching at full impulse."

"Put it on and open a channel," Chakotay replied. He moved up next to Seven. The speakers crackled with static with an indistinct voice. "Can you clear that up?"

Seven worked at the controls and suddenly the last part of the transmission came through clear enough through the static "… _will tractor you_." It was Captain Janeway.

"Say again Captain," Chakotay replied. "We only caught the tail end of your transmission."

" _Chakotay. It's good to hear your voice. We received your transmission and are moving to your position and will tractor you to where we're assembling the other escape pods. What is your condition?_ "

"We're fine Captain. A few bumps a bruises."

Seven glanced down at the wound on her hip. A bit more than a bump or bruise by her estimation, but it was healing fine with the nanoprobes.

" _The shuttle took a beating and its sensors are still not functioning correctly. How many are with you in your escape pod?_ "

"Just two of us Captain. Seven of Nine and myself."

" _Very good. There are still eight pods and thirty-one crew members unaccounted for. Prepare for the tractor beam. We'll assemble the senior staff on the shuttlecraft Tereshkova after the search for the other pods is complete_."

"Understood. Chakotay out." The escape pod shifted slightly when the tractor beam engaged, and then they felt a steady acceleration in the opposite direction as the pod's porthole. Just then, the console beeped indicating the level four diagnostics on the sensors was complete.

Chakotay turned to Seven and laughed. He was clearly relieved. "It's about time, but now we don't need it anymore." He looked about the escape pod. "So now what do we do?"

Seven wanted to talk to him more about these memories that they shared. She wanted to understand the mixed feelings he felt for his father and the ache he held in his heart for his mother and reconcile it with her own thoughts about her parents. She wanted to know more about the incident when the _Val Jean_ battled the three Cardassian destroyers in the Badlands and how it shaped his command in the Maquis. Tenuous strands and half glimpsed patches in the tapestry of his life. But all that could wait. She motioned towards the empty seats at the far end of the escape pod. "I would suggest Commander that now is a good time for you to finally get some rest."

#

Author's Note: I was going to post a chapter a day for the first two chapters for each of my current stories and then slow to a more manageable pace, but I guess today we'll get a bonus chapter.

I wrote the original teaser in "Possibilities" and in this story in first person/present tense to see if I could and to do something different. I kind of liked how it turned out, but I suppose that's not what everyone thinks. This chapter is now in third person limited (from Seven's perspective). So, I'd like your opinion. Should I continue this way or go back to first person/present tense?

Please review if you get a chance.


	3. Recovery and Conflict

Chapter 3 – Recovery and Conflict

The small space within the shuttle _Tereshkova_ was crowded. Captain Janeway had assembled the senior staff to go over the current status and discuss options. The Captain was at the head of the group, near the shuttle's piloting station. On one side were Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres, and Lieutenant Tom Paris. On the other side were Commander Chakotay, Mister Neelix, and Ensign Harry Kim. In the back, on the opposite side from the Captain, was Seven of Nine. Although she was sitting within the elongated circle, she didn't quite appear to be part of the group. Indeed, she felt as if she didn't belong, but Chakotay had insisted she be included. At the time, she was relieved, not wanting to be alone in the escape pod. There was, however, an uneasiness in the group, and Seven suspected, even with the destruction of _Voyager_ looming over them, the uneasiness might have something to do with her.

"Fortunately, we suffered no fatalities, although we have had some injuries. The Doctor is treating the more serious cases on the _Cochrane_ and we're setting up some of the escape pods for their recovery" the Captain began, looking at each of those gathered in turn.

Seven glanced down at the gap in her silver biosuit where the plasma inducer had impaled her and wondered again if this constituted a more serious injury. Chakotay and her nanoprobes were efficient in repairing the damage, although the rip in the suit and dried blood remained. No one had seen fit to question either Chakotay or her about the injury, although most everyone else also had some sort of evidence of surviving a warp core breech in an escape pod too close to the point of the explosion.

"Of _Voyager_ 's eighty escape pods," the Captain continued, "we've recovered seventy-eight of them. The other two are empty, and it's uncertain if they were successfully deployed before the breech. We're continuing the search with the other two shuttles and sifting through the expanding debris field in case there is anything else salvageable."

The Captain looked around the group again and then sighed. "There's no denying our situation is difficult. The question we have before us now is, what next?"

Everyone glanced from face to face, but offered nothing out load. They all appeared fatigued, obviously having slept little in the ensuing twenty-four hours. Chakotay's four hours of sleep had been restless and Seven could see in his eyes that he was nearly exhausted. He leaned forward slightly and was the first to respond. "I think we have two basic options, and which we choose will determine our next moves. We can either find a suitable world to settle down and lick our wounds, or press on to the alpha quadrant as best we can."

"In four shuttles and seventy-eight escape pods?" Lieutenant Torres barked. She turned to glare at Seven, her eyes burning with fire. She returned her gaze to Chakotay. "There's barely enough living space for us to think."

"It might be possible to extend each shuttle's warp field to contain some of the escape pods," Lieutenant Commander Tuvok offered. "The option to continue on to the alpha quadrant is a viable one."

The Captain turned to her Chief Engineer. "Would that be possible B'Elanna?"

Torres was still smoldering, but nodded reluctantly. "Our speed would be limited. Warp two, perhaps, at best."

"That's something," Ensign Kim chimed in. "I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not interested in settling down anywhere. I vote we continue on to the alpha quadrant."

"We're not taking a vote," the Captain said, and again locked eyes with all present. "Not yet anyway. We're discussing our options."

"I'd hate to encounter a hostile species in such a configuration," Lieutenant Paris commented. "We'd be vulnerable."

"If we do press on," Chakotay said, "as B'Elanna points out, space will be limited. Even if we use all of the escape pods as crew quarters, we'll have to double or triple up."

"Many of the pods were severely damaged in the blast," Tuvok offered. "They'll have to be repaired before they are habitable for a long period. Others will have to be converted for different purposes. Storage, for instance. We should also consider reconstituting the hydroponics bay. Our dilithium reserves will not be able to sustain our nutritional needs for very long. We'll have to find alternative sources of food."

"That's not going to be easy with just the escape pods," Chakotay said.

"Perhaps we could construct something else from the pods themselves," Paris suggested. "Something bigger, to enclose more space."

"I have an idea." The words were out of Seven's mouth before she could stop them. All eyes turned to face her.

"I think we've had enough of your ideas," Torres said sarcastically. She obviously didn't want anything to do with Seven and undoubtedly blamed her for the accident.

"What do you have in mind?" Chakotay asked. He appeared the least hostile of the group, so Seven directed her answer to him.

"I agree with Lieutenant Paris. We should combine the escape pods into a single structure. It would make them easier to handle and easier to encase in an extended warp field of a shuttle."

"What sort of structure are you talking about," Kim asked.

"An outer structure in the shape of a fullerene. Given the number of escape pods, Carbon-sixty to be exact. Within it, a secondary structure of the twelve escape pods in a ring. Within that, one of the shuttles. The final escape pods could be dismantled and used for parts."

"You're talking about building a Borg Sphere," Torres accused.

"The final shape would be spherical," Seven confirmed. "It is a very efficient design and offers the ability to enclose the greatest volume with the least material. If we fill the gaps between the escape pods, we could then fill the interior with an atmosphere and generate much needed usable space within."

"Are we going to listen to this drone?" Torres countered. "Her last idea caused this mess. She better watch her back from now on."

"That's enough B'Elanna," Captain Janeway said sharply.

"The core breech was an accident," Chakotay added, coming to Seven's defense. He was none too pleased at B'Elanna's veiled threat. "She had nothing to do with it."

"And you believe her?" Torres shot back.

"Enough," the Captain interrupted. She was clearly irritated. The entire situation had everyone on edge. The Captain paused to let things settle down. "We'll investigate the _accident_ later. Let's discuss Seven's idea for constructing a new vessel."

"We could use force fields to fill the gaps," Kim suggested.

"One energy fluctuation and the whole interior is exposed to vacuum," Tuvok observed. "We need a robust design that can accommodate our reduced capabilities."

"The only other option would be to replicate material and fashion a bulkhead," Paris offered.

"That much replicator use would severely cut into our dilithium reserve," Torres countered. Her voice was not as hostile as before. There was something else on her mind. "On the other hand…" she began but then stopped and continued to think about whatever that was.

"What is it B'Elanna?" the Captain asked.

"I suppose we could fashion a replicator to mold material as opposed to generating it from energy. That wouldn't tax the dilithium as much and there's probably enough salvageable bulkhead and hull material in the debris field to use."

"If we want to use that material, we should act fast," Tuvok said. "The debris field continues to expand and the longer we wait the harder it will be to recover."

The Captain nodded crisply. It was clear she had made a decision and no vote would be forthcoming. "Harry, work with Seven. I want to see a design by the end of the day. B'Elanna, get your team working on modifying several replicators and making them portable so we can start the construction. Find all EVA suits we have to use in the work. Tom, you'll take the _Tereshkova_ and join the other two shuttles. Let's gather as much of the bulkhead material as we can."

"I would prefer to work with Commander Chakotay," Seven responded. Lieutenant Torres had something on the tip of her tongue, but decided not to speak. Instead she looked at Chakotay with confused and uncertain expression.

The Captain also looked uncertain. "I'll work with Seven and Harry on the design," Chakotay said, cutting off any possible objections. It was enough to break the spell. "I'll also start redistributing personnel amongst the escape pods. Assigning quarters."

"Get people working on repairing as many of the damaged pods as well," the Captain added. "Put Ensign Ayala in charge of assembling the bulkhead and hull material when the shuttles start returning. Assign him whoever he needs. Tuvok and I are going to remain with Tom on the _Tereshkova_. This will be my base of operations. We'll use the _Cochrane_ as the shuttle in the center of the new vessel."

"What should I do Captain?" Mister Neelix asked. It was the first time he had spoken during the meeting.

Captain Janeway considered her response. "As morale officer, your job is perhaps the most difficult Mister Neelix. As Commander Chakotay gives you the assignments, it will be your job to make sure the transition goes smoothly and that everyone remains engaged and occupied. Report directly to me if you see a problem developing with the crew. Coordinate your efforts with the Doctor on the _Cochrane_ and then move to one of the other shuttles."

"Aye-aye Captain," Neelix responded enthusiastically.

The Captain again looked at each of them in turn. Chakotay had moved closer to Ensign Kim and Seven. Surprisingly, Seven now felt part of this group. Further, the mood had changed subtly. There was still some hostility, particularly from Lieutenant Torres. Now that there was a plan of action, however, there was another feeling… one of hope.

"We have our job cut out for us," the Captain concludes. "Let's get to work."

#

Chakotay, Seven of Nine, and Harry Kim moved to the _Cochrane_ to complete the preliminary design for the new vessel. The crewmen the Doctor had treated were already moved to various escape pods in preparation for the _Cochrane_ being used as the center of the sphere. Although the Captain hadn't yet endorsed the final design, they were proceeding as if she would. Primarily it was Seven and Harry discussing the details with Chakotay offering some assistance. Chakotay worked mostly on finalizing immediate personnel issues such as assigning quarters and work assignments.

"I think we're ready Commander," Ensign Kim said brightly.

Chakotay placed the PADD he was holding down and looked up. "Let's see what you've got."

Harry pulled up a schematic on the shuttle's computer station. "As Seven suggested, we'll have an inner ring of twelve escape pods surrounding the _Cochrane_ and then sixty escape pods surrounding that in the shape of a fullerene. The full outer diameter is adjustable depending on the amount of usable hull material we can salvage. We estimate that's going to be about thirty meters and that's reflected in what you see here." He pointed to the schematic. At each intersection of a hexagon or pentagon on the fullerene was an escape pod. "We'll align the artificial gravity along the axis of the ring, and thus there will be thirty-two escape pods in the outer portion that can be used as quarters."

"Why only thirty-two?"

"The artificial gravity would make the fourteen escape pods at each pole more difficult to utilize as living space," Harry responded. He frowned and examined the design for a moment. "I suppose in a pinch, we could try using these pods, but the gravitational axis would make accessing them as living space disorientating."

Chakotay shook his head. "We're going to need that space for other things. I'm already working to get three or four people per escape pod, and so that should work out fine."

"I suggest we mount phaser banks at both poles," Seven said.

"That's our preliminary thought," Harry hastily added. "We will need to install shield enhancers at positions between escape pods to extend the _Cochrane_ 's shields to protect the entire structure. Here, here, here and here." He was pointing to various places on the schematic.

"Is there a specific threat you have in mind Seven?" Chakotay asked, turning to face her instead.

"We are in a hostile region of space," Seven responded. "The nearby Caatati vessels, for instance."

Chakotay frowned. "They seemed harmless enough."

"For _Voyager_ , perhaps," Seven responded. "Don't let their current appearance deceive you. Before their assimilation, the Caatati were divided into several competing factions and there were constant skirmishes. Their tactics can be brutal. The sooner we can defend ourselves, the better lest they take advantage of our current circumstances."

"And Species 4978," Chakotay added hesitantly. "Their territory lies in the direction we're headed."

"That is correct," Seven confirmed.

"Who are Species 4978?" Harry asked.

"The Krenim," Seven responded. "They, along with the Mawasi and Nihydron have competing claims and many disputes in the space along our route. The Borg have conducted forays into this sector for the purposes of scouting potential drone reservoirs."

Chakotay paused as he considered something. "We'll have to inform the Captain of what we know about the Caatati and other species in this region of space," Chakotay replied soberly.

Harry adjusted some controls and the escape pod structure dimmed and was replaced by a depiction of another structure within the sphere. "We'll build an internal lattice of walkways and ladders at the equator and four other latitudes within the sphere and parallel with the inner ring of escape pods," Harry continued with the presentation. "This will provide access to all points within the vessel. We'll use this space below the _Cochrane_ here as the new hydroponics bay, and this space here above the _Cochrane_ as a command center."

"It does look eerily similar to a Borg sphere," Chakotay commented.

"An efficient design," Seven observed. "It was Ensign Kim who suggested and designed the lattice-like structure," she quickly added.

"I don't imagine the Caatati would appreciate that nuance," Chakotay observed, and then nodded. "Let's show it to the Captain when she returns. I think she's going to approve it and we'll likely start construction immediately. So that uses seventy-two of the pods. What do we do with the extras?"

"Currently there are six extra escape pods," Seven responded. "We plan on gutting four of them of their useful material and utilizing the rest as raw material for the sphere's infrastructure. The other two may be beyond salvaging."

"And the other three shuttles?"

"They fly in formation with the Sphere," Harry answered.

Chakotay stood and picked up his PADD. "Okay. I'd like for both of you to brief this to the Captain when she returns. In the meantime, I have to coordinate some logistics on how to handle the salvaged hull material with Ayala and B'Elanna. I'm beaming over to their location."

"Commander," Seven said. "This would be a good opportunity for me to establish a power conduit with the _Cochrane_ 's warp core for the purpose of my regeneration needs. I could relay the power to the escape pod where I'll be assigned for quarters."

"I'm still working on that," Chakotay responded. "Create a regeneration junction here in the shuttle for the time being."

"I can help you," Harry suggested eagerly.

"That will work fine," Chakotay responded. "I'll return when I've finished." He then touched his comm badge. "Ayala?"

" _Here sir_."

"I'm beaming to your location." Chakotay entered in some commands on his PADD, which must have been linked to the shuttles transporters, and then promptly dematerialized and was gone.

"So where do we start?" Ensign Kim said rubbing his hands together. He appeared a bit too enthusiastic to Seven's tastes.

"We'll have to convert the warp core's frequency to one my regeneration input can process," Seven replied. "A triaxial phase with something between twenty-four and twenty-five megahertz."

"Twenty-four to twenty-five. Got it."

Seven moved to the rear of the shuttle next to one of the plasma relays for the port nacelle and crouched down. "We will access the junction from this panel," she said and started to disengage the latches. Suddenly there was a thud from behind her. When she turned, Ensign Kim was on the floor unconscious. Standing over him were two crewman, one with a hypospray still held out from where he must have injected the ensign in the back of the neck. She recognized them. Cathal O'Donnell and Kenneth Dalby. Both were former Maquis. They must have beamed over simultaneously or immediately after Commander Chakotay left, perhaps near the front of the shuttle where the sound of the transport would be dampened. It was Dalby who held the hypospray, and he stepped back to revel that O'Donnell held a phaser pointed at Seven.

"I think we've had enough of you messing with our systems," O'Donnell said. His mouth was drawn in a thin line and he sounded nervous, and angry. "You're not wanted here."

"What are you proposing?" Seven asked. She stood up and moved to the back of the shuttle, as far away as possible. O'Donnell appeared as if he was going to follow, but only swayed a bit and stayed where he was. It occurred to Seven he had mixed feelings about what he was doing.

"I'm proposing we dump you into one of the derelict escape pods and send you on your way," he said.

"The chances of my survival would be slim," Seven remarked.

"That's not my problem," O'Donnell responded. He shifted the phaser in his hand and bit his lip. He then turned slightly towards Dalby but didn't take his eyes off of Seven. "Access the shuttle's transporter. Let's get this over with. You have the coordinates."

Dalby moved over to a side panel.

"You don't want to do this Cathal," Seven suddenly said. "What would your parents think? What would Liam and Keiran think?"

This caught O'Donnell off guard. He stumbled back and Dalby turned to look at them both. "What do you know about my parents?" O'Donnell spat.

"I know they have a strong faith in God, and you're worried about them," Seven said. "Your homeworld is close to the demilitarized zone."

"Of course I'm worried about them. We saw what the Cardassians did to the Maquis."

Seven took a step closer and reached out her hands. She realized she understood the pain he was going through. The anger. "It is their home, and they are willing to die for it. To die for their faith as well. They would not be pleased by your actions now. Your faith Cathal, the heritage which you've forgotten." She gestured to the phaser. "This is not you."

"Who the hell are you to lecture me?" O'Donnell shouted. He lowered the phaser ever so slightly. His previous expression was now replaced with confusion and sadness. How did she know all these things? "You took my oldest brother at Wolf 359. You've assimilated and killed millions as a Borg drone. You destroyed _Voyager_!"

"I was not responsible for the accident," Seven replied. She couldn't defend herself from the other accusations. As a drone, she had indeed participated in horrendous actions. Until very recently, she couldn't even claim she felt remorse for those actions.

"To hell with you!"

And then everything happened at once. Seven heard the sound of a transporter beam, but it wasn't she who was being transported. The phaser fired less than a second after giving her no time to react and the blast hit Seven point blank. It was on a high stun setting and felt like a physical blow to her abdomen. She doubled over and crumpled to the floor. She couldn't lift her head, but was still facing her attackers. In the seconds of consciousness she had remaining, she saw the legs and boots of those in the shuttle. There was a struggle. She heard the shouts, but couldn't make out the words. O'Donnell and Dalby and perhaps two others. Two others who must have beamed over to the _Cochrane_ and had come to her assistance.

She couldn't see, but she knew one of them was Chakotay. It gave her some degree of comfort knowing it was him. Her torso now felt numb from the phaser blast. She was losing consciousness. She closed her eyes and succumbed to the blackness.


	4. The Sphere

Chapter 4 – The Sphere

Seven awoke, but didn't open her eyes or move. There was still a dull ache where the phaser had impacted her chest, but otherwise she felt surprisingly well given the last forty-eight hours. She was quite comfortable lying on her back, despite the fact that she usually regenerated standing up. In fact, as she assessed her surroundings, there might even be a cushion of some sort under her head. She was just beginning to wonder what it was that seemed to be about her wrist when she heard someone walk over to her and then the sound of a medical tricorder scan.

"Rise and shine Seven," Chakotay said and closed the tricorder. Seven opened her eyes as Chakotay was stepping back. He must have suspected she had regained consciousness and confirmed his suspicions with the scan. He looked tired and his uniform was slightly disheveled.

Seven sat up and looked about. They were not aboard the _Cochrane_ but instead inside one of the escape pods and were alone. She had no memory of how she got there, but she could venture a pretty good guess. The three seats along one side had been converted into a narrow bed and this is where she sat. She noticed the same had been done for the seats across from her as well making the escape pod suitable quarters for two inhabitants. Certain details suggested it was quite possible they were back in their original pod, although it was likely all the escape pods were identical. "Where are we?" she managed. Her mouth felt dry and chalky, perhaps an artifact of her need to now ingest liquids and food.

Chakotay looked about as well. "Pod eleven in the interior ring of the Sphere, at least that's how you and Harry have it designated in the plans. The Captain approved them and construction has already begun."

"Crewmans O'Donnell and Dalby…" Seven began, the memory of the attack rushing back to her, but Chakotay stopped her with a wave of his hand.

"They've been dealt with," Chakotay responded rather harshly. From just the tone in his voice, someone who didn't know him better would suspect the worst. Seven knew Chakotay better than that. Chakotay had fought beside both men, and in more than one situation, owed them his life. And the reverse was true of course. Their time in the Maquis together was significant.

"It wasn't their fault," Seven said. She felt she knew both men from Chakotay's memories. Some fragments of battles and skirmishes with the Maquis played in her mind.

Chakotay frowned. He rubbed his eyes with his hand and sat down across from her. "Somehow I thought you'd say that," he said. "I didn't throw them in the brig, although that was my first impulse. That and to crack their heads open. What the hell were they thinking?"

Seven took this as a rhetorical question and remained silent. They both knew what Cathal and Ken had been thinking.

"It would be a waste of space to have to convert one of the pods to a brig anyway," Chakotay continued. "I haven't told the Captain yet either. Harry and B'Elanna have agreed to stay quiet for now, and the Doctor won't say anything, although I think he suspects foul play."

"B'Elanna?" Seven asked. This surprised her.

Chakotay nodded and smiled slightly. "She's the one who alerted me that something was up. We beamed over together and stopped those idiots from doing more harm."

"I didn't think she cared what happened to me."

"She doesn't," Chakotay replied flatly. He then yawned and shook his head as if to wake himself up a little more. "I made it clear to Cathal and Ken _and_ B'Elanna that you were a part of our crew now and that it was specifically their responsibility to make sure something like this never happens again, or there'll be hell to pay. I think they'll get the word out without having to bother the Captain. She has enough to worry about."

"Cathal was hurt by the Borg," Seven said. For some reason she felt compelled to defend him. If she thought about it, she might not even be able to explain why to herself. "And with his parents and the demilitarized zone. I can understand his feelings and motivation. The two of you were children together."

Chakotay looked at Seven for a long moment. "I thought as much," he finally said. "He was going on about you knowing all about him and his family. He thought it might be from when the Borg assimilated his brother at Wolf 359, but I suspected it was from our link much more recently."

Seven couldn't tell if it was regret or fatigue in his voice. "It is… strange. Many of my memories are not my own. Those of the Borg Collective. Of the Hive Mind. And now your memories as well."

"Strange…" Chakotay repeated, apparently in agreement, but offered nothing more.

"Is that going to cause a problem for you?"

Chakotay looked away and seemed to be studying something on the floor. "I don't think so," he said, but there was something else weighing on his mind. For a moment, it appeared as if he wasn't going to say anything else. But then he finally added, "B'Elanna thinks my judgement has been impaired. Who knows what the Captain will think. I told B'Elanna about the effects of our… link. After I sent Cathal and Ken back to work, she was insistent on knowing why I seem to now trust you implicitly and know for certain that you had nothing to do with the accident."

Seven remained quiet. Chakotay trusted her implicitly. That pleased her in a way she didn't expect. Would she have felt that just a few days ago? What were her memories that were surfacing for him? Of her childhood? Of the Borg? What sort of memories had changed the way he thought of her in this short time? In a way, she now trusted him implicitly as well. She couldn't put a finger on exactly why. She just _knew_ him. It occurred to her that B'Elanna might feel the same way. "B'Elanna trusts you, and is willing to go along with it."

"Yes," he agreed, and nodded slowly.

Likely all the Maquis would react the same way. Even Cathal and Ken now that Chakotay had made his position clear. Seven became aware again of the pressure on her wrist and finally glanced down to examine the source. About her wrist was wrapped a cuff with a bundle of wires that led to an outlet in the bulkhead.

"Harry and the Doctor rigged that up," Chakotay explained. "For you to regenerate. You had said enough to Harry before he was taken down for him to figure the rest out on his own. I've been monitoring you and it appears to be functioning properly."

"How long was I regenerating?"

"About ten hours now. I think a bit longer than normal, but you are still recovering from the injury during the warp core breech and now this." Chakotay looked back around the escape pod. "I've been keeping an eye on you while I coordinate the assembly of the escape pods into position and assign quarters and work details. I suppose I should have taken some of that time to sleep as well."

Seven glanced out the escape pod's single window. It faced inward and she could see the _Cochrane_ 's port nacelle close by. A rudimentary walkway was also in position. She could see three crewmembers in EVA suites positioning various other pieces in place. "How far along are we?"

"All the pods are in position," Chakotay responded with a smile. "B'Elanna has three portable replicators reconfigured to mold the salvaged hull material and work has started in filling the gaps between the pods and building the infrastructure."

"It's going fast," Seven remarked, glancing back out the window for another look. "Very efficient."

"The Captain is on the _Tereshkova_ ," Chakotay continued. "They've been monitoring a number of Caatati ships assembling nearby with long range sensors. I'm not too happy about that. Harry and B'Elanna are in the _Cochrane_ supervising the assembly of the Sphere. The Captain wants you to join them as soon as you're up to it." He yawned and rubbed his eyes again with his hand.

"You should get some sleep," Seven said, finally seeing how tired he truly was. "You look exhausted."

"I plan to," Chakotay said. "As soon as you clear out of here."

Were these his quarters too? Seven appeared momentarily surprised, but of course it would be unrealistic for her to have an entire escape pod for herself. Then it became obvious. He was protecting her. Of course he was. "We are sharing the same quarters," Seven said. It was a statement rather than a question.

Chakotay nodded, but then seemed slightly hesitant. "I don't think there'll be another problem, but for now, I'd be more comfortable with these arrangements. Is that fine with you?"

"These arrangements suit me perfectly."

#

Seven, B'Elanna, and Harry were huddled around the _Cochrane_ 's computer display. A schematic of the Sphere rotated in front of them.

"It's coming together nicely," Ensign Kim remarked. "Your inputs have been valuable Seven."

"Thank you," Seven replied. Ensign Kim had been going out of his way to interact with her and include her as part of the group. Seven wondered if it had something to do with the earlier attack. For her part, B'Elanna had also appeared more tolerable of Seven's presence.

"It does seem kind of weird," Harry continued. "Having the nacelles exposed like that and in the interior of the ship. We'll be able to almost touch them from the interior equatorial walkway."

"As long as we can vent the dry plasma to space through those conduits," B'Elanna replied pointing to a spot on the diagram, "We'll be fine."

Seven noticed Harry frown, still not exactly happy. He had proposed early on to disconnect each nacelle and move them closer to the periphery of the structure. He would periodically re-suggest this arrangement, but as the Sphere took shape, it was becoming more and more unrealistic to do so. "Ensign, the nacelles project the warp field to surround the ship wherever they reside," Seven said. "It makes little difference."

"I know," Harry responded. "Just… A hundred plus years of Star Fleet vessels having the nacelles extended on either side."

"Back in the early days, that was a necessity due to the radiation leakage," B'Elanna observed, seeming just a little exasperated. "The _Cochrane_ 's nacelles won't cause us a problem."

"I suppose," Harry said, still non-committal but apparently willing to go along with the consensus.

Seven touched the screen and the image stopped rotating and now one of the pods near the top of the Sphere was highlighted. "Have we ensured the _Cochrane_ 's phaser banks have been installed correctly in perimeter pod sixty?" she said.

"I think Marina is working on that," Harry responded.

"How about the enhancements I suggested to increase range and power?" Seven persisted.

"Harry with the nacelles and you with the phasers," B'Elanna remarked, more humor in her voice now. "You're both obsessed."

"We are in a hostile region of space," Seven replied. "I can brief you on the threats if you'd like. We have to be prepared."

"I'll go check on it," Harry put in. He seemed happy to do it. He touched his comm badge. "Ensign Kim to perimeter pod sixty."

" _Go ahead_."

"I'm beaming over to your location. Stand by." Harry then turned to Seven. "I'll be right back."

When he was gone, B'Elanna laughed. "He's like a puppy dog."

Seven turned to B'Elanna confused by her observation. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't noticed? He's been fawning over you all day."

Seven was still confused. "Explain."

"Don't you get it Seven? Our young ensign has a crush on you."

Seven had a vague idea of what that meant. In fact, she had noticed his attention even before today but had dismissed it. "I have no interest in pursuing a romantic relationship with Ensign Kim."

"Oh? You have someone else in mind then?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

B'Elanna shook her head and turned to Seven. There was obviously something she had been wanting to say. Before she could, however, she was interrupted by the chirp of her comm badge.

" _Ayala to B'Elanna. We found what you were looking for. Beaming it to you location now_."

B'Elanna touched her badge. "Thanks Miquel. Standing by."

Immediately afterwards, something materialized in the aft section of the _Cochrane_. It was about the size of a replicator and although the exterior was badly charred, it appeared intact. It took Seven a moment to recognize the salvaged piece of _Voyager_. "The back-up data core," she stated. Seven had studied the _Voyager_ schematics extensively. The back-up core was designed to survive a core breech, and apparently it had.

"Exactly," B'Elanna said, moving over to examine it. She paid particular attention to the output port. "We'll be able to download all the telemetry and ship's sensor readings up to the moment of the explosion. Then, maybe, we'll get some answers."

Seven stepped up closer to B'Elanna. "You still believe I had something to do with the accident."

B'Elanna stepped back from the data core to face Seven. She paused a moment, seemingly studying Seven's reaction to the discovery of the data core. "Chakotay is convinced you are innocent," she finally said.

"But what do you think?"

B'Elanna continued to stare at Seven but Seven didn't flinch under her intense gaze. "Twenty-four hours ago, I was certain you had something to do with it," B'Elanna said. "Now I'm not so sure."

"You trust Chakotay's judgement," Seven replied, expressing her assessment she had shared with Chakotay earlier. "Just as he trusts you and your judgement. You and he have been through a lot together."

B'Elanna narrowed her eyes. "This link you had with Chakotay. It's real?"

"Yes."

"Tell me about the Vilnius Minor incident."

Seven shook her head. "It's not like that. I don't have instant recall of all his specific memories. It's more when something specific happens and it triggers a recollection. The longer we're together, the easier it has become."

"Give me an example."

"When Chakotay told me it was you who helped him subdue my attackers. I remembered an incident on Bajor when you broke Dalby's nose in a fight. Dalby had just joined our cell, and he was arrogant and unmanageable. Chakotay was mad with your lack of discipline, but also thankful you put Dalby in his place."

B'Elanna smiled at this. "Ken and I still don't see eye to eye," she said and then looked more thoughtful. "So you really do have some of his memories."

"Yes."

"And he has some of yours?"

"Yes."

"And now you and he are sharing quarters. Pretty cozy, don't you think. You know he is protecting you."

"I do."

"But he can be so naïve. Are you in love with him?"

This caught Seven off guard. Perhaps that had been B'Elanna's intention. Seven wasn't quite sure what to say. She wasn't even sure what it felt like to be in love. Love was irrelevant to the Borg. The few memories she had from before being assimilated were a love between a child and her parents. What she felt towards Chakotay was… different. The sudden realization that she felt anything startled her. As for Chakotay's memories on love, she was reluctant to probe them. Her reaction, however, must have been enough for B'Elanna.

"I tell you Seven, if you hurt him in any way, I'll finish what O'Donnell and Dalby started. He's had bad luck in the past and Chakotay means too much to me. Understand?"

"I understand," Seven replied.

B'Elanna turned back to examine the data core's output interface. "Hand me that hyperspanner," she said and reached her hand back. The conversation was apparently over.

Seven stepped over to pick up the requested instrument and placed it in B'Elanna's outstretched hand. She then moved off to the _Cochrane_ 's computer to prepare a data link for the core, deciding it would be prudent to help B'Elanna get the core online as quickly as possible. Although the interchange had been tense, somehow the hostility between the two of them that Seven had felt before was defused. It was a few minutes later that Seven realized she had never answered one of B'Elanna's questions.

Although she knew B'Elanna was simply being provocative to elicit a response, was it possible? Was B'Elanna even implying that Chakotay might be developing feelings for her? It had only been forty-nine hours since the warp core breeched and they had been stuck together in the escape pod. It seemed both a minute ago and a lifetime ago…

As Seven continued to configure the data interface with the computer, she couldn't help but dwell on these new thoughts as well…

#

Author's note: A little out of order here with regard to the "Possibilities" stories chapter updates. I'll get to all of them, but it might be in a slightly different order.


	5. Hostile Space

Chapter 5 – Hostile Space

B'Elanna leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. "So it was an accident," she concluded thoughtfully.

"Apparently there were erratic fluctuations in the ship's warp power," Harry Kim said, looking over the data they recovered from the backup computer core one last time. He pointed to a spot on a graph that charted the core pressure as a function of time. "When the tachyon levels rose to a resonant frequency, core pressure increased. There was no stopping it after that."

"I do feel responsible," Seven said. "I should have anticipated the problem."

"You had no way of anticipating this," Harry countered. "The complexity of _Voyager_ 's shape in the warp field makes the calculation impossible to solve analytically. I'm not even sure simulations would have caught it."

"It was an accident," B'Elanna repeated firmly. "It's done and in the past. We have to move on."

Seven understood B'Elanna was talking to herself as much as to her and Harry. The three of them were alone and sitting in the shuttlecraft _Cochrane_. They had turned into the defacto design team for the Sphere, and during the past day of analyzing and recovering information from the backup computer core, they had also worked through design issues and helped speed along the construction. To Seven, it appeared that B'Elanna was glad to get this behind them and get on with the business of completing the Sphere. Remaining stopped in space was getting her antsy, as she had reminded them often enough. The _Cochrane_ now formed the center of the new ship they were building out of the remains of _Voyager_. Outside and all around them, work continued on fashioning the outer hull and mounting it between the escape pods to fill in the gaps. B'Elanna sat back up and looked over to Harry who was still at the computer controls. "Pull up the current status from Ayala's reports and figure out when the outer hull will be complete."

They had checked just the hour before, but Harry punched a few keys and examined the results anyway to see if there had been any changes. "Still ahead of schedule," he remarked. "We should be done in just under eight hours."

"And what's the estimate for completing the internal superstructure?" B'Elanna asked.

"Ayala is still showing forty-eight hours," Harry responded. "But that's after six hours of pressurizing the interior and testing hull integrity and it might be a bit optimistic. Even then, that's just the big stuff. We'll be working on the Sphere for weeks."

B'Elanna wasn't pleased, something else was obviously on her mind. "We can cut into that," she persisted. "Start the internal framework during the test."

"That will be risky," Harry countered.

"We'll have the work crews stay in their suits. Be ready to go over to full EVA if there's a problem. Once the framework is done, we can go to warp and finish things up on the move."

Harry was shaking his head. "It will only take a few hours to complete the hull tests. What's the hurry?"

"I want to get moving again," B'Elanna replied.

"I can see that. What's another day or two?" Harry asked.

B'Elanna looked over to Seven, who had remained quiet throughout the interchange. "I'm beginning to think we need to heed Seven and Chakotay's warnings about the Caatati. I know this morning Tuvok and the Captain were not convinced, but their ships continue to assemble at the edge of our sensor range."

Seven nodded. Finally someone else was taking the threat seriously. "When the Caatati feel they have an overwhelming force, they will come to intercept us and make demands. Their weaponry may be inferior, but we are in no condition to fight."

"We have the phasers installed at the poles like you suggested," Harry put in.

"That will help, but our priority now should be to enhance shields."

"Before the internal structure is complete?" B'Elanna questioned. She pulled up the design and looked over what they had proposed. "We can just do the basics. Once that is in place, we can get out of here and leave the Caatati behind. Our top speed will be much greater than theirs."

Seven considered this, but then shook her head. "Perhaps," she said. "Doing the main dodecahedral structure before the rest is a good idea, but I would be happier to have the strengthened shields first. They could be completed in short order, possibly even simultaneously with starting the framework."

"It will slow us down. If we are attacked without the framework completed, our integrity will be compromised. We'll crack like an egg inside the shields if we take too much of a beating."

"If their weapons bring down our shields," Seven replied, "we'll be just as dead."

Just then Lieutenant Ayala materialized in the forward section. Ayala had been put in charge of managing the Sphere's construction. The site foreman, so to speak. Communications was sometimes a bit of a problem, there being no central computer yet in the Sphere, and so site to site transport was often easier if you needed to speak with someone. He moved aft and looked about the small cabin. "Where's Commander Chakotay?" he asked.

B'Elanna and Harry both turned to Seven. Rumors about Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine were now circulating about the crew. The fact that the two of them were sharing quarters had not gone unnoticed, and even during this time of upheaval, speculation about what this might imply proliferated. More and more, even in this short period of time, Seven noticed the crew treating her differently, both in little ways and big ways. As it happened, Seven did know where Ayala could locate Chakotay, although probably not contact him directly for a while yet. "Chakotay took the _Ride_ out with Crewman McKenzie to extend our sensor coverage." she responded.

Ayala nodded. "That makes sense. The Captain took the _Tereshkova_ to do the same thing, probably in a different sector." Ayala held up something he was holding in his hand and then handed it over to Seven. It was a closed container, a standard Star Fleet carrying case. "Could you give this to Chakotay when you see him? We found it in some of the wreckage."

"Of course," Seven replied. The case itself was uninteresting, so she surmised whatever it was, it was something contained inside. The container had no lock, but she put it aside without opening it.

"How's it going out there?" B'Elanna asked, despite having just heard the status from Harry moments before.

"Ahead of schedule," Ayala responded. "We're already setting up to immediately start pressurizing the interior to conduct the hull integrity test."

B'Elanna nodded thoughtfully. "Pull a couple people off testing and start working on the Sphere's shields. Use what you need here from the _Cochrane_ and get ready to install along the Sphere's equator for best effect. We'll get you the exact configuration in a couple hours after we run some simulations."

"That will slow down the testing and may even delay construction of the framework," Ayala commented.

"I understand," B'Elanna said. "The shields are now a higher priority. Try not to let construction of the framework slip. Figure out how to safely start while running the hull test."

Ayala frowned, but nodded stiffly. "Will do," he said. With no more questions forthcoming, he touched his comm badge and beamed away, probably having preprogrammed the return transport.

"So we're going with Seven's recommendation regarding the shield enhancements." Harry said dubiously. Not so much a question as a statement.

"Yes," B'Elanna said, deciding to answer anyway.

Harry looked back and forth between B'Elanna and Seven. "Just like that? Just a couple hours ago you were skeptical about the need for the enhancement. Shouldn't we consult the Captain and Commander Chakotay?"

B'Elanna turned to look sharply at the young ensign. "Harry, I was put in charge of the Sphere's design and construction. I don't have to consult anybody." She glanced at Seven and added, "I'm pretty sure I know what Chakotay would say anyway."

Harry frowned, but decided not to pursue it further.

"I have some ideas about the shields," Seven said.

B'Elanna shook her head. "Harry and I can work on this," she said. "I want you to beam over to the _Liu_ and join Tuvok and his security team."

"I think I should…" Seven began but B'Elanna cut her off.

"You need to convince them to take the Cataati threat seriously," B'Elanna explained. She laughed at herself. "I'm thinking more and more like you and Chakotay. It's almost as if I was part of that link."

Harry looked up at B'Elanna curiously.

B'Elanna laughed again, but then turned serious. "The better prepared we are, the more likely we'll get out of this hostile space in one piece."

Seven picked up the container next to her and stood. "Understood," she replied and then turned to Harry. "Ensign Kim, could you transport me over to the _Liu_?"

Harry seemed reluctant to do so, but moved over and entered in the appropriate coordinates. From Seven's perspective, B'Elanna and Harry were the ones who dematerialized and Tuvok and three others on his security team materialized in their place. In truth, Harry had simply entered the coordinates such that Seven beamed over to the exact same spot and orientation on the other shuttlecraft, and since the four remaining shuttlecraft were all identical, it gave Seven that impression.

Tuvok looked up from the item he was holding. It appeared to be a partially disassembled phaser. "Seven, what are you doing here?"

"Lieutenant Torres requested I join you to discuss the Caatati threat."

Tuvok raised an eyebrow and the three other security personnel also looked up. Each appeared to be working on various small arms weaponry. She recognized them all: Adelaide Jarvis, Roland Andrews, and Cathal O'Donnell. Seven did a double take with Crewman O'Donnell. He didn't necessarily appear hostile, but definitely uncomfortable, probably due to the circumstances of their last encounter.

"There is no imminent threat," Tuvok replied. "Curiously, however, the Captain just communicated with us to do precisely what you suggest. She is assembling the senior staff as soon as Commander Chakotay returns on the _Ride_."

"Have they discovered anything with the extended scans?" Seven asked.

Tuvok nodded slowly. "As you know, there are currently six of their ships at the edge of our sensor range. Three are together with the original vessel we encountered, and three more are approaching their position and should arrive within the next six hours. The Captain has discovered more vessels further out. I'm uncertain what the Commander has found."

"They are massing for an attack," Seven replied.

"For now, even with six vessels in a coordinated attack, they would be no match for our four shuttlecraft."

"What if there were fifty vessels," Seven countered. "Or a hundred."

Tuvok pursed his lips. The three other security personnel looked between each other, obviously filled with questions. Jarvis was the first to speak. "Do the Caatati really have that many ships?" she asked.

"Those are the lower and upper limits," Seven responded, "according to Borg estimates. After the fall of the Caatati homeworld, it was decided further assimilation was unnecessary, and so the Borg have ignored them for the past five years. It's possible they have more by now."

"You destroyed their civilization," O'Donnell commented. He didn't sound angry, more so detached from his emotions. Perhaps this was a way he controlled them.

"The _Borg_ destroyed their civilization," Seven corrected. She felt it necessary to clarify further, not exactly seeing hostility in Cathal, but she sensed it was still there and felt they were at a sort of turning point. He did try to kill her, after all, less than forty-eight hours previously. "As a drone, I had little say in the matter."

"Commander Chakotay mentioned something of their tactics," Tuvok said thoughtfully. "We were just beginning to discuss strategy per the Captain's orders. Please enlighten us further as we repair these weapons."

Seven sat down next to Jarvis and picked up one of the phasers from the pile between them all. The four of them were repairing, as best they could, these devices which must have been recovered from the debris field. Many still showed signs of being in the warp core explosion. Only Andrews flinched slightly, but quickly returned to working on his own device to disguise his unease at her handling the phaser. The others did the same.

"The Cataati, before the Borg, were divided into several competing factions and there were constant skirmishes amongst them," Seven began. "The battles were waged by attrition, with forces engaging and attempting to gain superior numbers over their rivals. Their technology is inferior, however, and the assimilation of the entire planet was accomplished without incident."

"Just like that," Andrews whispered, stopping his work. "That could have been Earth."

"It is possible," Seven confirmed. "Earth would be unable to withstand an assault by an assimilation fleet."

"You say it as if you are proud of that fact," O'Donnell said. Again without emotion, but definitely with an underlying veiled anger.

"Not at all," Seven replied. "I simply state it as a fact."

"The Borg did send a cube to Earth," Jarvis put in. "It was destroyed by Star Fleet and their mission failed."

Seven shook her head. "A single cube was sent to assess Earth's defenses. As it was, it almost achieved complete assimilation by itself." She glanced at Crewman O'Donnell and then added, "Fortunately, the Borg weren't interested in assimilating Earth at that time, and so didn't follow up with an assimilation fleet."

"But they could come back?" O'Donnell asked, some emotion now in his voice.

"Yes. When the need arises, they will go back. The Borg know of Earth, and so it is only a matter of time." Seven glanced about the group. All of them had stopped working and were considering her words. It occurred to her that she wasn't being as tactful as she could. What would Chakotay say, she thought to herself. Unfortunately, the topic had also shifted and she needed to refocus the discussion back to the problem at hand. "The imminent threat to our survival, Commander, is the Caatati. I believe we should get back to planning for a possible confrontation."

"Agreed," Tuvok replied.

"If we could decide what the maximum number of ships we're willing to engage," Andrews said. "That would be a start. In that way, we could bring the fight to them if need be if there numbers continue to increase and threaten to become too great."

Tuvok was considering this. "I think your proposal is prudent. Do we know the exact and current capabilities of their ships?"

"We conducted scans when we encountered that one Caatati ship before the accident," Andrews said. "Those scans would have all the information we need."

"On the _Cochrane_ , we have the backup computer core," Seven said. "It took some work, but we now have full access to its contents. It's likely those scans are there and can be analyzed."

Tuvok nodded. "Very well. Return to the _Cochrane_ with Crewman O'Donnell." He then turned to face O'Donnell directly. "When you have the information, return here and we will assess their capability and develop the various contingencies for the different numbers of vessels we may face." He turned back to face Seven. "Do you suppose Commander Chakotay would concur?"

Seven nodded, only belatedly realizing the incongruity of his question. Why would Tuvok ask her? Tuvok showed no emotion, but Seven suspected he was curious about her current status regarding Commander Chakotay. He was obviously privy to the rumors and was probably assessing the security implications.

In that time, O'Donnell had stood and was now next to Seven. "Do you feel comfortable me entering in the coordinates and beaming us over?" Again emotionless, but there was something more. Something in his eyes.

A memory of Chakotay's flashed through Seven's mind. The wreckage of a Maquis ship lay out before them. When he and Cathal arrived after traversing a kilometer of rugged terrain, they found no survivors. It was difficult, and heartbreaking, but what could they do? "Of course Cathal, let's move on," she said, repeating the words that Chakotay had said those many years before.

O'Donnell stared at her for a long moment, and then turned to tap in the coordinates. They beamed back to the _Cochrane_ , this time materializing in the forward section. B'Elanna and Harry looked up from what they were doing. Vorik and Tal Celes were also there apparently disassembling the _Cochrane_ 's shield grid.

"Back so soon?" B'Elanna asked.

"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok and his team are already developing strategy for a potential conflict with the Caatati per the Captain's orders," Seven replied. "Crewman O'Donnell and I are here to extract the scans of the first Caatati vessel from the backup computer core."

B'Elanna nodded. "Good. We can take care of that. Chakotay was just here. He's back from the periphery and wants you to meet him in your quarters."

Seven wondered why he just didn't contact her directly. "Very well." She turned to O'Donnell who was still right beside her. "Cathal, could you beam me over to my quarters."

"You're not worried?" he said quietly, so only Seven could hear.

"Should I be?" Seven responded. She knew that Cathal had tried to essentially kill her before and wasn't aware of their recent discovery proving the accident was just that… an accident. A slight change to the transporter coordinates could finish what Cathal had intended, but Chakotay said he wouldn't cause any more trouble, and Seven trusted that.

O'Donnell narrowed his eyes. "I have a lot of questions for you."

"And I have answers," Seven replied.

This seemed to be enough to him for now. He turned and punched in the coordinates. "We'll talk later then," he said.

For the third time in less than twenty minutes, Seven transported away, this time to her quarters in one of the escape pods. Chakotay was leaning over the small sink, splashing water on his face. He grabbed a cloth and rubbed his face dry. He looked shaken.

"What's the matter?" Seven asked.

Chakotay turned to face her. "We have a problem," he said. "The Captain and I just completed a more distant scan around the Sphere, and it's worse than we thought. The Caatati have a hundred and twelve vessels converging on our location. They will be here in just a few days."

That was at the upper limit of the Borg estimate. The Caatati were putting everything they had into capturing and acquiring _Voyager_ 's technology. What was left of it anyway.

"The Captain is assembling the senior staff to look at our options," Chakotay continued. "I want you there with me. You know the most about the Caatati."

Seven nodded. He looked tired. She knew how little sleep he was getting, and a restless sleep at best when he did. These last few days had been difficult for him. Inexplicitly, she found herself stepping towards Chakotay. It was as if they were magnets drawn together by an external force. She couldn't stop, even if she wished to, until she was beside him. She placed the container Ayala had given her down on the counter and then tentatively wrapped her arms about his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. Chakotay responded by lightly placing his arms around her in a soft embrace. It felt calming and natural, as she anticipated it would. Not by anything in her own experience, and yet not a specific memory of his either.

"There may be an option we haven't yet considered," Seven said.

Chakotay didn't answer for a long moment. Seven wondered if he was reluctant to respond, wanting to instead linger in their embrace. It was what she was thinking. Throughout the day she had had a vague notion of holding and being held by Chakotay, just as they were now. Did the memories they shared make them think more alike? Was B'Elanna right after all? Although in one respect she didn't feel any different than before the accident, she knew she had changed.

"Let's hope so," Chakotay finally answered. He reached up to her shoulders and moved her away slowly. There was uncertainty in his eyes, and yet also warmth. Questions for another time. "It's time to go. They're probably gathering already."

#

Author's note: Sorry for the long delay in updating any of my stories. I do have a chapter of Surprise Date almost complete, but after that, not sure when the next update will be, but I do intend to finish this and my other outstanding stories eventually. I'm barreling ahead with my original plan for this one and anticipate two more chapters and an epilogue. Reviews are always appreciated.


	6. Plans

Chapter 6 – Plans

Chakotay and Seven were the last to arrive. A small makeshift table stood in the back of the _Tereshkova_ , and everyone was already seated. Seven noticed there was only one spot left beside Captain Janeway, presumably for the Commander. Evidently he hadn't told the Captain he intended to bring her to the meeting. Ensign Kim, who was sitting on the other side of the empty chair, stood quickly and moved to the rear of the shuttle to free up a spot. Perhaps B'Elanna was right when she pointed out his attraction towards Seven. Somehow she would have to dissuade him of that notion. Chakotay and Seven both stepped forward and sat down.

Captain Janeway paused for a moment, on the verge of saying something to Chakotay, but then returned her attention to the rest of the group. "As you may have heard by now, Commander Chakotay and I took the _Tereshkova_ and the _Ride_ out on a reconnaissance of the surrounding space and have discovered multiple convoys of Caatati vessels converging on our location." She tapped on a PADD and then motioned to a viewscreen that was mounted on the shuttle's wall. It displayed a representation of the Sphere's surroundings. Four Federation symbols in the center represented the Sphere and the three remaining shuttlecrafts. There were six red diamonds relatively close by and a swarm of other diamonds in clusters approaching from various directions around the Galactic plane. Seven presumed there were a hundred and twelve in total, from what Chakotay had said before they left their quarters.

"I've done a quick analysis of their distribution and trajectories," Tuvok said. He tapped some commands on a PADD he was holding and faint lines extended from each diamond and moved to the center. "The bulk of their fleet will intercept our location in twenty-one hours with all vessels arriving by thirty-two hours from now."

"They are massing for an attack," Chakotay and Seven said in unison. Seven noticed a curious glance by Tuvok in their direction and she resolved to keep her mouth shut from now on unless asked a question directly.

"Can we negotiate with them?" Janeway asked, her question directed towards Chakotay and Seven. "They seemed reasonable enough during our last encounter."

Chakotay turned to Seven. Her resolution to stay quiet quickly tested.

"They were at a disadvantage then," Seven finally said. "With superior numbers, the Caatati won't hesitate to use whatever means necessary to get what they want."

"What do you suppose they want?"

"Everything," Seven replied. "All of our remaining advanced technology. Anything and everything that might help them to survive."

"They would leave us with nothing for ourselves?" Neelix asked incredulous.

"To the Caatati, the ends justify the means," Seven said. "You saw how they reacted to my presence before. Even if they needed an excuse, they have one now. They will kill us all without a second thought."

Janeway looked back towards the map and then rubbed her eyes. "We obviously can't engage their entire fleet," she commented. "If negotiation is out of the question, we have to find a way to avoid contact."

"Unfortunately, it appears avoiding contact is also not possible," Tuvok said. "We're running simulations now using the scans from our previous encounter with the single Caatati vessel. I suspect, however, the maximum number we will be able to repulse in a direct assault while simultaneously defending the Sphere to be twenty to thirty."

"So we need options and other ideas," Janeway concluded. She turned to B'Elanna. "When is the soonest we can get underway?"

B'Elanna frowned. "We can skip the hull integrity tests," she said. "But we still have to work on the infrastructure if we want to use the _Cochrane_ 's impulse or warp drives. Forty-eight hours minimum before we can maintain any speed."

"What can you get done in ten hours?"

"Not much," B'Elanna replied soberly. She breathed deeply and shrugged, knowing full well she needed to elaborate. "We could perhaps complete the dodecahedral framework and muster warp two, but faster than that and we'd risk a catastrophic warp field collapse if anything buckled. We need the full internal structure to get to higher warp."

"The bulk of the Caatati vessels are capable of warp three point one," Tuvok stated.

"We won't be able to outrun them," Harry Kim said and moved towards the viewscreen. He pointed to the spots above and below the Galactic plane where the density of Caatati vessels was nearly nonexistent. "If we are able to sustain warp two and move off into one of these directions perpendicular to the Galactic plane, we could complicate their intercept and give us more time to finish the interior structure."

Tuvok nodded. "Based on the Caatati's current distribution, we could plot the best course to maximize that time."

"If the Sphere has working shields, we could even risk engaging a few of their vessels at points closer to the Galactic plane if that would make a difference," Chakotay added.

"We'll have those shields," B'Elanna said.

Tuvok was typing on his PADD. "I'm instructing my team to run the requisite scenarios. We should have an answer soon. Still, we'd be cutting it close. If we stay at warp two, and Lieutenant Torres' estimate of forty-eight hours is correct, I suspect we will still encounter significant resistance before the end of that time."

"If we're having to fight them off, it might ruin our whole timeline," B'Elanna pointed out. "That forty-eight hours will expand to a longer and longer time as we divert personnel and resources to protect ourselves. We'd be delaying the inevitable at that point."

Everyone became quiet and looked about the room. Seven wondered if they could have avoided this situation if the rest of the senior staff had taken seriously her and Chakotay's warnings earlier. Probably not since the construction of the Sphere had been ongoing from the very beginning. But still, they would have been preparing something. Somehow she thought there was something they were overlooking.

"What about transwarp," Chakotay finally said.

"What about it?" Janeway replied, tilting her head in Chakotay's direction.

"Warp two. That's the minimum requisite speed. With that field in place, we could attempt to open a transwarp conduit and slip through. The Caatati wouldn't be able to touch us then."

"You've got to be kidding," B'Elanna said, her eyes blazing. "That damn transwarp test is what got us here in the first place."

"I'm not kidding," Chakotay said and glanced at Seven as if looking for encouragement. "From what I understand, the warp field stresses in the transwarp space won't be an issue. It's as if we never go faster than warp two, but we can cover a great deal of distance in a short amount of time. Enough distance where it would take weeks or months for the Caatati to get to us, even if they found us. Ten seconds, perhaps, in transwarp would be all that we need."

"Less than that in any given jump if we take it in stages," Harry added. "What about the shuttlecraft?"

"The Sphere is too small to enclose them in the same field," Chakotay replied. "They'll have to catch up later at their top warp speed, which is considerably faster than the Caatati."

"Are the _Cochrane_ 's warp engines are enough to initiate and sustain a transwarp conduit?" Harry asked.

Chakotay turned to Seven, and then everyone seemed to be looking at her for confirmation. Tuvok's glare was particularly unsettling. "It might be possible," she offered, suspecting Chakotay was drawing from her own memories and experience to formulate the suggestion. The thought of another attempt at transwarp travel was a bit alarming to her, however, and she was certain it showed in her voice.

Janeway turned to B'Elanna. "You don't seem happy about the prospect B'Elanna. What are you thinking?"

B'Elanna shook her head. "I'm not sure it's worth the risk. If we lose the Sphere in the same way we lost _Voyager_ , we don't have anything else to fall back on. We didn't design a way to eject the core if something goes wrong."

"How could we," Harry said. "It's in the center of the Sphere."

"There's no way to eject the core?" Janeway asked, already knowing the answer but perhaps surprised at herself for not considering it earlier.

Harry turned to Captain Janeway and continued. "We estimate a better than fifty-fifty probability the pods in the outer portion of the sphere would survive, depending on the directionality of a core breech or failure at warp. Less than a one percent probability for the pods in the inner ring."

"It's not like we had much choice," B'Elanna explained. "We threw Star Fleet's safety protocols out the airlock a long time ago." She locked eyes with Seven. More questions this time than hostility. "I frankly don't know enough about transwarp. We'd be relying on Seven's expertise heavily if we tried again. If you recall, we were just going to open a conduit and take a look, not go inside for a ride. Look what happened."

"We may lose the Sphere anyway if we have to fight the Caatati," Chakotay shot back. "I have complete confidence in Seven. We really can't let anything happen to the Sphere anyway. Not everyone can fit in the three remaining shuttlecraft." That was a sobering thought. What would they do then? The shuttlecrafts could easily outrun the Caatati, but could only fit a fraction of the crew. Chakotay rubbed his chin, as if he was remembering something. "I think the spherical design of our new ship will make establishing and maintaining the transwarp field far easier."

"We don't have a deflector," Harry said, but was obviously intrigued by the idea and thinking through the possibility. "How do we scan subspace to open a conduit in the first place?"

"The Sphere itself can be used as the deflector," Chakotay answered. "That's why the Borg design their vessels in simple geometric shapes. It makes transwarp travel that much easier."

Tuvok had been quiet for a long interval now and was looking back and forth between Chakotay and Seven. He was sitting with his hands raised, the tips of his fingers touching. "I'm afraid we may have another problem," he said.

"What now?" Janeway said exasperated turning to her tactical officer.

Tuvok paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "I think we should speak in private with Commander Chakotay and Seven," he replied evenly.

Janeway looked confused, obviously not expecting what she had just heard. She raised her hands. "It's not like we can go to my ready room for a chat. What is it Tuvok?"

"A suspicion."

Janeway pursed her lips. She glanced at Chakotay, but he shrugged his shoulders not sure what Tuvok was referring to. "Whatever it is," Janeway replied, "you can say it in front of the senior staff. We're all in this together."

"Very well. I suspect that Seven of Nine and Commander Chakotay, most likely without their knowledge, are still under the influence of the Borg."

"What!?" Janeway blurted out, again the last thing she expected to hear. She turned again to Chakotay. Seven could feel her heart beating faster.

"I have been observing their actions carefully," Tuvok continued. "As you might remember, the original attempt at opening a transwarp conduit was initiated after Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine consulted with each other. It was that seemingly innocuous test that directly led to the destruction of _Voyager_."

"The warp core explosion was an accident," Harry said and turned to B'Elanna for confirmation. "We've proved it using the data contained on the backup computer core. When the tachyon levels rose to a resonant frequency, core pressure increased. We couldn't eject the core, and so the increased pressure eventually led to the explosion."

"Additionally," Tuvok continued, ignoring Ensign Kim's comment, "the two of them have since been acting strangely. It is as if they are two different people from who they were before the explosion. Their actions are coordinated, almost as if their thoughts were shared." He was making it sound as if they were Borg drones.

"There's a simple explanation Captain," Chakotay offered. "Seven and I _have_ been acting in a coordinated manner, but it's not what you think."

"Enlighten us," Janeway said, somewhat light hearted, but also with an edge of concern.

Chakotay turned to Seven. How exactly to say it? How to explain why they've kept it from the Captain.

"Their minds were linked," B'Elanna blurted out when Chakotay hesitated. "Chakotay told me about it earlier. When we distracted Seven to disconnect her from the Collective, their minds were linked."

"I detected no residual effects," the Doctor put in.

"Evidently, we did not consider the possible ramifications of that link," Tuvok said. "It is possible the Borg still have access to their minds."

"No, that's not possible," the Doctor said. "I monitored them both for a week afterwards and there was no evidence of that."

"No evidence that you could detect," Tuvok added.

Chakotay leaned forward. "It's not that a link has continued with the Borg or even between us," he explained. "Our proximity now in the aftermath of the accident has intensified the recall of the memories we shared during the link. Whether now or in years, I imagine we would have eventually remembered at some point."

"Need I point out that Seven has tried to contact the Collective before," Tuvok said, still prosecuting his case. "In fact, the last attempt was just a few days before the explosion."

"I assured you at that time that it was the last," Seven said. She didn't like having her word questioned.

"I am not suggesting you are consciously attempting to contact the Borg now. I originally postulated that it was most likely you and Commander Chakotay are being influenced unconsciously. I am saying, however, that we cannot discount the possibility that the opening of a transwarp conduit might be an invitation to a nearby Borg vessel to come and investigate."

"That won't happen," Chakotay and Seven replied simultaneously. Again, the Borg-like unison. That wasn't helping at all. How could she convince them she wasn't a threat? All she wanted now was to help them. To help Chakotay and to be with him.

If Seven didn't know better, she would almost think Tuvok was pleased with himself. "That idea may have driven you to suggest the transwarp test in the first place," he concluded, "and it may be enticing Commander Chakotay to suggest it again now."

"Is that possible?" Neelix asked nervously. Obviously the prospect of another encounter with the Borg was not a pleasant one.

"Other species use transwarp technology," Harry pointed out.

"But perhaps it would be something the Borg might investigate," Tom mused. "A trigger they are looking for to locate new technology to assimilate."

Both Tuvok and the Captain were now frowning. "Again, I am merely pointing out a possible security risk," Tuvok said. "I am not suggesting the Commander or Seven are doing this intentionally. The Borg influence, if it exists, is most likely on an unconscious level and they are not even aware of it."

Chakotay turned to Seven. His look nearly broke her heart. Was he thinking of her as a threat as well? Seven wasn't accustomed to deception. In the Borg, it was of course impossible. On the other hand, the Borg was all about deception. Deceiving the drones and the Hive Mind itself into thinking they were bringing about a greater perfection to the universe. "Captain, there is nothing I am doing consciously to bring harm to anyone on the crew."

"I know that Seven," Janeway said. "You have to admit, you have been different since the explosion."

"Of course I have," Seven responded, and almost laughed in exasperation. "I now have a lifetime of memories and experiences to draw on for guidance. I know they are not my memories or experiences, but they do provide a better bedrock for human understanding than any of my own."

The Captain turned to Chakotay. "What about you Chakotay?"

Chakotay sighed. "I suppose it's fundamentally different for me since Seven's memories are unlike anything in my experience. It helps me in keeping them separated from my own." His whole continence subtly changed. Perhaps it was unnoticeable to everyone but Seven, but Seven could clearly see he wasn't thinking of her as a threat. He had never thought that. Before, he had been thinking of something else. Knowing him as intimately as she did, she understood now he had simply been chastising himself for bringing Seven into this situation in the first place. "I feel I now know Seven. Better than anyone I've known before."

"Can you guarantee to me you're not being influenced by the Borg?" Janeway asked.

Chakotay was quiet for a long moment. "I don't know," he finally replied. "I can't deny that things are different now. I don't think there is any influence, but I can't be certain. How could any of us be?"

Janeway leaned back in her chair and looked about the small space. "It's never easy, is it?" she finally asked to no one in particular. She finally settled on studying the map once more.

Seven felt like she needed to say something more, but the Captain obviously sensed that or heard her move and raised a hand to stop all further discussion. She was thinking, still weighing all the options. The burden of command. Finally she turned to her chief engineer. "B'Elanna, you and your team have ten hours to get the internal framework completed for warp two travel. That's our top priority."

"Aye Captain."

Janeway then turned to her tactical officer. "Tuvok, by that time, I want the best trajectory away from here to maximize our time without encountering the Caatati and minimizing the number of vessels we encounter when that time comes. We need crew assignments for the three shuttlecraft and what tactics they'll use to protect themselves and the Sphere."

Tuvok nodded.

"You're all dismissed," she finally said, but then turned to Chakotay and Seven. "Except the two of you."

Tom Paris moved to the front of the _Tereshkova_ and the rest stood and beamed away to the other shuttlecraft or to the Sphere itself. Captain Janeway waited until it was just the three of them left about the table. "My gut tells me the Borg have nothing to do with this," she finally said. "And Tuvok's concerns are unwarranted."

Both Chakotay and Seven nodded back.

"In the future, I expect to be the first to know about any residual effects of… _whatever_. Do I make myself clear Chakotay?"

"Of course, and I'm sorry."

Captain Janeway smiled and shook her head, placing her hand on Chakotay's shoulder. Seven sensed the trust and friendship between them. In a way, she felt it too. "I'll talk to Tuvok. In the meantime, I want you both to prepare the Sphere for transwarp travel. You could probably tap into some personnel not directly involved in the construction. Vorik, for instance. Use the _Ride_ as your base of operations. Do all the simulations you want, but don't conduct any tests with the warp drive. Bring in B'Elanna and Harry when you have to after we get underway, I'll let them know to expect to hear from you." She smiled again despite the strain she must be under. Seven couldn't help but admire her. "I have a feeling we're not through with the Borg just yet, but it won't be anytime soon and we'll deal with them when the time comes. Mind you, I haven't made my final decision yet about using transwarp, but I want to have that option available as a last resort if we can't get away by conventional means."

"Yes Captain," Chakotay answered. Seven had purposely delayed her response so she wouldn't be saying it yet again in unison with Chakotay. Chakotay seemed to understand this and turned to Seven with a smile and a wink only she would see.

"Of course Captain," Seven replied, trying not to smile back, but kicked Chakotay under the table instead.


	7. Gone

Chapter 7 – Gone

Seven opened her eyes, her regeneration cycle having just ended. A vague notion of a forest danced on the edge of recollection. Before the destruction of _Voyager_ , Seven didn't recall ever dreaming, but now she found she was experiencing what must be half-remembered dreams when her cycles ended. A mixture of images and visions from both Chakotay's past and her own. She turned her head to scan the interior of their quarters. The blue-white glow of the _Cochrane_ 's nacelles shown in through the window in the door. That would have to be covered at some point. By its light, she could clearly see that Chakotay was still asleep on his own bed across from her. The Sphere was apparently under warp, so nothing must have delayed B'Elanna's last projection when she and Chakotay had went to bed four hours earlier. She disconnected the regeneration bracelet attached to her wrist and sat up, trying to make as little noise as possible. Four hours regeneration was sufficient for her, but she wanted Chakotay to get as much sleep as he could. She paused for a moment and then swung her legs off of the bed and onto the floor.

The computer console was just a few steps away. She sat at the single chair they now had and pulled up the current status. Scanning the log entries it appeared that everything was still going as planned. Their first encounter with Caatati ships was projected in just over an hour. The six vessels had been closest to their position when they went to warp. Tuvok planned to have the three shuttlecraft intercept them before they were in range of the Sphere with a ninety-eight percent probability all would be disabled in quick succession. After that, the Sphere would make a course change and thirty minutes later another ten Caatati ships would come into range. The strategy was to keep adjusting course to limit the number of vessels the Caatati could concentrate into a single attack. If all went according to this plan, Tuvok would allow B'Elanna and her team an additional forty-two hours to complete the internal structure. Not exactly what the chief engineer asked for, but at least enough time to complete the structure enough to increase their speed above warp three point two so they could leave the Caatati threat behind.

As far as the trans-warp contingency plan was concerned, they were as ready as they could ever be without conducting an actual test with the warp engines. She and Chakotay had worked with Vorik to first go over _Voyager_ 's fatal trans-warp test using the data recovered from the back-up computer core. They picked through the sensor readings millisecond by millisecond and programed a host of simulations to work out how best to use the Sphere to open a conduit, slip into it, and exit it three seconds later. Both B'Elanna and Harry were onboard but still apprehensive about employing this contingency plan. Fortunately, it appeared the plan wouldn't be required anyway.

"What time is it?" Chakotay asked from behind her.

Seven turned to face him. He was already sitting up in his bed. "I apologize if I woke you," she said.

Chakotay shook his head. "I've been sleeping lightly," he replied and rubbed his eyes. "A lot going on," he added.

"It's just past 0800," Seven said, answering his initial question. "We encounter the first Caatati vessels in about an hour."

Chakotay yawned and looked out their quarter's small window into the interior. He obviously noted, as Seven had moments before, the glow of the warp nacelles and perhaps was looking for signs of the ongoing construction of the interior structure. "We have about forty minutes then before we need to be on the bridge," he finally said. When the interior of the Sphere was finally pressurized, they had opened up the _Cochrane_ 's doors for easier access. Now, the inside space of the shuttlecraft was being referred to as the bridge. Access to all the key systems in the Sphere were from within the converted shuttlecraft, and so it also contained main engineering, deflector control, and weapons. There would be a bit of a crowd in there when the time finally came.

Tuvok's plan called for Chakotay and Seven to stay aboard the Sphere with the bulk of the _Voyager_ crew. Chakotay would be in command and also be in position to either defend the Sphere from attack or employ the trans-warp contingency plan if the situation warranted. The three shuttlecraft would be manned with just three people each – Captain Janeway commanding the _Tereshkova_ , Lieutenant Commander Tuvok in the _Liu_ , and Lieutenant Andrews in the _Ride_. Each would also have a pilot and engineer/weapons officer. Hopefully, their maneuverability and speed would overwhelm the inferior capabilities of the Caatati.

"Are you satisfied with Vorik's results?" Chakotay asked. He was still thinking about the trans-warp simulations.

"We've been through each case a half dozen times," Seven answered. "I think between the three of us and B'Elanna, we should be able to perform adequately if required."

"And what about pulling Ayala from construction and having him at weapons?" B'Elanna had disapproved of this idea, but Chakotay had been insistent.

"A wise precaution," Seven replied. "I'd trust Ayala over anyone else besides you and me."

Chakotay smiled and nodded. Seven suspected he might prefer that she was the one at weapons, but knew she had to be free to implement the contingency plan if it came to that.

"What's that?" Chakotay asked. He was nodding towards a Star Fleet container on the edge of the desk.

It took a moment for Seven to remember. The container was where she placed it the day before. "Ayala gave that to me for you the other day," she said. "I'm not sure what's inside. Something that was recovered from the _Voyager_ debris field."

Chakotay moved down to the end of his bed and reached over to take the container from its perch. He opened it and pulled out the bundle that was inside. It appeared to be an animal hide tied together with a leather cord. "Remarkable," he muttered as he turned it over in his hands.

"What is it?" Seven asked, although it did appear vaguely familiar, something she should recognize.

"My medicine bundle," he replied. "I'm surprised it survived the explosion in such good condition." Indeed, there only appeared to be a slight darkening of the hide on one corner. How it survived and was later recovered was a mystery.

Once he said it, Seven did recognize the medicine bundle at once, although of course she had never seen it before. She remembered it from his memories. And then she recalled something else. "A coyote," she said softly.

Chakotay looked up at her in surprise. "What did you just say?"

"A coyote," Seven repeated. "From my dream this morning in the forest." There was something important about this particular creature and pertaining to Chakotay. The coyote held some significance to him personally. She remembered too late.

Chakotay looked down at his medicine bundle for a time, testing the cord and again turning it over in his hands. "I imagine I shouldn't be surprised," he eventually said. "How can there be secrets between the two of us?"

Seven knew the coyote was Chakotay's animal guide, and she also knew it was something he believed he should have kept secret out of respect for what he considered the animal's spirit. "I am sorry," Seven began. "I…"

"You have no reason to be sorry," Chakotay interrupted. "You didn't initiate the link that we used to distract you. To sever your ties to the Hive Mind. I didn't realize just how jarring that was for you."

"I understand why you and the Captain did it," Seven said. "I understand your motives."

Chakotay was shaking his head. "You have no reason to be sorry," he repeated, emphasizing this time with his hand. He appeared thoughtful for a moment and then added, "I know better than anyone what you've been through."

They were quiet for a time. Seven tried to recall what she could about Chakotay's spiritual beliefs and the importance of his animal guide. The vision quests were something he started in earnest after his father's death. A way of perhaps speaking to his father and learning from him. Learning from him in death things he ignored in life.

"You feel your animal guide helps you," Seven began tentatively. "In understanding your path in life. The meaning of things. Something your father believed in, but you didn't until later."

"Both my parents were spiritual, in their own way," Chakotay replied. "My father was interested in the more ancient traditions and customs of our tribe, particularly the myths associated with the Sky Spirits." He again appeared thoughtful. "You have an objective opinion. What is your impression of my father?"

Seven concentrated and tried to recall what she could. There had been much conflict between Chakotay and his father. Kolopak did not approve of Chakotay's plan to enter Star Fleet and Chakotay resented his father's demands. The chasm between them only grew wider with each passing year. But when Kolopak had died defending the colony against the Cardassians, it had driven Chakotay to leave Star Fleet and join the Maquis. In a way, to search out and understand his father better. "Obsessed," she finally answered. "Wanting to validate those myths. Like his search for the lost tribe of the Rubber Tree people."

Chakotay nodded. "Isn't it ironic that _Voyager_ fulfilled his dream and discovered here in the Delta Quadrant the aliens who tens of thousands of years ago encountered the ancestors of the Rubber Tree people. Encountered the distant ancestors of my tribe as well. A clear scientific explanation with no supernatural intervention required."

"It was quite a coincidence," Seven replied. She knew there was something deeper and that Chakotay was troubled by this. Something that hit at the core of his spirituality and faith. "Do you now think your spirit quests can be reduced and explained strictly with science? Manifestations of the subconscious mind and an echo of the inheritance given to your distant ancestors by that alien race?"

Chakotay frowned. He seemed to be turning Seven's comment over in his mind. "I don't think I've ever put it into words quite like that before, but I think you're right. I've always been interested in archeology. But there's a sense that for every question you answer, a dozen more questions come to mind. There's always something more. But now, that fundamental questions about the so-called Sky Spirits and the origins of those beliefs have been definitively answered, and so there aren't any more." He looked down again at the medicine bundle in his hands. "It's true that I've not gone on as many vision quests since that time. The last was months ago." He looked back up, searching Seven's eyes. "I suppose I have had a crisis of faith of sorts."

"There are other questions Chakotay."

Chakotay shrugged. "Perhaps. What are _your_ spiritual beliefs?"

He probably already knew the answer, but perhaps wanted to hear it for himself. "I have never given it much thought," Seven said. "The Borg sought perfection, and so as a drone, I sought perfection too. My parents sought answers to their own questions, and didn't consider questions to which science couldn't provide an answer."

"As you say, there are plenty of questions to busy oneself for a lifetime," Chakotay said thoughtfully. "And when all those questions are answered, what have you gained?"

"A better understanding," Seven offered.

"Fair enough. And yet, after all that, there is still one thing science can't explain. All those questions and answers lead ever back to the beginning with no easy answer. The fundamental question of existence."

There were of course many things science couldn't explain. It was never meant to. "Your mother's faith was of a different sort," Seven commented. "She didn't need science to answer that question."

"I was just thinking of her," Chakotay replied. "It's funny, but when I think of her now, I can't help but think of your mother as well. Unlike my father, her faith was rooted in the more recent beliefs of my tribe. An amalgamation of different religions, both indigenous and introduced over the centuries. She had a particular devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the mother of the living God."

"I have an image of your mother in my mind," Seven said closing her eyes to visualize it better. "She is standing in a doorway, silhouetted against the light from outside. I can see the detail of her dark hair, almost the individual strands in the light."

Chakotay cleared his throat. "She died when I was young," he managed. "That might have been the last time I saw her."

Seven scolded herself. She needed to think before she said these things that came into her mind. But as Chakotay had said, there could be no secrets between them. She again felt compelled to reach out and touch the side of his face. A similar sensation to the day before when they embraced. She traced her fingers along the path of the tattoo on his temple. A design from the Rubber Tree people and a connection to his dead father. Chakotay reached up and took hold of her wrist, but not to pull her hand away but to hold it there in place. To make sure the contact wasn't broken. He closed his eyes and held it there. "I've been missing something in my life for a long time now," he finally said softly.

Seven reached her other hand up to rest on Chakotay's shoulder and leaned forward to be closer to him. Just a week ago she couldn't have conceived of a moment such as this. She had known the mechanics of being human, but not the feeling of it. How could she have answered the questions she didn't know to ask? Her consciousness was no longer confined to her own experience and to the limits of a Borg drone. The desire to return to those confines was now unthinkable to her. This amazing transformation in just a matter of days, and it was all because of him. B'Elanna was right. How could she help it? She perhaps knew him better than she knew herself. She wanted to tell him that perhaps he had already found what he was missing. She felt confident she had found it for herself.

Seven didn't know how long they stayed like that. At some point she noted a change in the light from the nacelles and a knock at the door. Someone was standing just outside. Chakotay opened his eyes and the two of them gazed at each other for a moment. He then got up and moved to open the onetime hatch to the escape pod that now served as their quarters.

It was B'Elanna. "It's almost time," she said. "The shuttlecraft are breaking formation. We should all get to the bridge."

Chakotay sighed and nodded. "Let's go."

Seven stood and followed Chakotay out. They stepped onto the circular platform that surrounded the _Cochrane_ and allowed access to the twelve escape pods in the interior ring along the outer diameter, and the interior of the shuttlecraft on the inner diameter about a quarter of the way around the circle. It was just a short walk from their quarters to the bridge and Seven noted the artificial gravity was only strong enough to keep them from floating off. Different than from inside their quarters which was at one Earth standard and she had to be deliberate in her movements. This was likely to make the continued construction easier to accomplish, and indeed she looked up and saw two dozen or more personnel working on the interior structure. The dodecahedral main support was in place, but now they were fabricating the beams and supports that would not only strengthen the Sphere, but also allow easy access to the sixty other escape pods in the outer portion of the new ship. The artificial gravity returned to normal when they entered the confines of the bridge. Ayala was already at his station along with Harry at sensors, Marina Jor at the helm, Vorik at one of the two engineering stations, and Cathal at deflector control. B'Elanna took her position at the other engineering station and Seven moved to stand next to her. If they needed to employ the trans-warp contingency plan, this is where she would need to be to open and close the conduit.

"Harry what's the status," Chakotay said.

"The shuttles are closing on the first Caatati formation," Ensign Kim replied. "It appears half of their ships are separating from the other three and the shuttles are moving to intercept." It sounded to Seven that the Caatati were trying to divide the shuttles' attention with more separated targets than they could engage simultaneously. A strategy that might work if it took longer than expected to disable each individual Caatati vessel. "Should I put the comm up on speakers?" Harry added.

"Not just yet," Chakotay said and turned to his pilot. "Marina, are you ready to execute the post engagement maneuver."

"Aye sir. Programmed and ready."

"Weapons?"

"Ready."

"Deflectors?"

"Fully charged."

Chakotay nodded. With any luck, they wouldn't have anything else to worry about during this initial conflict. "Okay, let's hear what's going on."

"… _and get back to intercept the vessel at point zero six._ " It was Captain Janeway's voice. " _Tuvok, once your target is disabled, return to my coordinates to help with the rest_."

" _Understood_."

" _Ma'am, still no answer to any of our hails_." This was Andrews in the _Ride_.

" _We can't let them get any closer. Target their engines and open fire when in range_."

Seven glanced back towards Chakotay. Their eyes locked for a second. This was it. Although technically, Seven had only been on the _Voyager_ crew for fourteen days, three hours and twenty-three minutes, she felt fully invested in the outcome of the current events. For the second time this hour, she marveled at the transformation that had taken place within her. Any yet, she didn't feel much different. In her mind, each moment progressed continuously. An unbroken consciousness from a Borg drone to now.

" _Opening fire_ ," Andrews said over the comm, interrupting Seven's thoughts. This was followed quickly by both Tuvok and Janeway announcing the same. After what must have been a few more volleys, Andrews came on again. " _Phasers are having no effect_."

" _Their weapons appear to be offline and they are channeling all available energy to their forward shields_ ," Tuvok commented.

" _Fire at will_ ," Janeway barked. " _Full power to the phasers_."

Again silence over the comm. "How's it going Harry?" Chakotay commented.

Ensign Kim was examining the readout from sensors. "Andrews has just disabled his target and moving to the next," he said. "Tuvok and the Captain are having trouble… wait, both have disabled a target. Tuvok is moving back to rejoin the Captain."

"Distance?" Chakotay asked.

"Thirty seconds to warp field merger if they're not disabled," Harry replied.

It wasn't supposed to be this difficult. Chakotay resisted the urge to move over to sensors to see for himself.

" _Their shields are stronger than we anticipated_ ," Tuvok commented over the comm.

" _Concentrate your phasers on the trailing vessel_ ," Janeway responded. " _Chakotay, stand by. One of these might get through to the Sphere_."

"Aye Captain," Chakotay said and then turned to Ayala. "Fire both batteries when the Caatati are in range. Full power." And then to Harry, "put up a visual of their approach."

Ayala nodded, his attention focused on the phaser lock and an image of the trailing star field appeared on the screen. The fire fight was close enough now to see both the _Tereshkova_ and the _Liu_ circling the two remaining Caatati vessels and the near continuous phaser fire. Suddenly there was a flash from the lead Caatati vessel. It immediately dropped out of warp and disappeared.

" _One more to go_ ," Captain Janeway said, but it was already too late.

"Warp fields merging," Harry said a moment later. "They're on a collision course."

"That's their strategy," Chakotay commented. "They've diverted all power to their shields and intend to ram the Sphere to force it out of warp."

"Twenty seconds to impact!" Harry said with alarm.

"Fire those…" Chakotay began to say, but was interrupted when both phaser batteries on the Sphere's poles opened fire.

"Direct impact," Harry confirmed. "It's still coming."

The Sphere's phasers continued to fire with the _Tereshkova_ and _Liu_ also still engaged. An agonizing five seconds later, there was a bright flash. The Caatati vessel broke apart into a half dozen pieces, but since it was contained within the Sphere's warp bubble, each piece continued to approach in an expanding debris field because of their previous momentum. Chakotay eyes widened. "Evasive maneuvers!" he shouted.

Marina Jor had only a fraction of a second to react. Judging what looked like the most dangerous debris, she altered course accordingly. It was impossible, however, to avoid all of the debris. Several glancing impacts occurred one after the other. Inertial dampers took care of most of the jarring, but with the internal structure not fully completed, all those on the bridge glanced about wondering if the hull integrity was going to hold.

"Shields are down twenty percent," Cathal commented. "Good thing we made those enhancements."

B'Elanna looked over the readouts at engineering. "Still maintaining warp two," she said. "I'm surprised we held together."

" _Chakotay, status_ ," Captain Janeway called over the comm.

"We're okay Captain," Chakotay replied. "That was close."

" _Captain_ ," Tuvok cut in. " _We did not anticipate their tactics. I estimate a twenty two point four percent probability that the next encounter with the ten Caatati vessels will result in the Sphere taking a direct hit_."

" _We have to intercept sooner and engage with full phasers_ ," Janeway countered.

" _I've already taken that into account_ ," Tuvok replied. " _It gets worse. If we make it to the fifth encounter with the nineteen Caatati vessels, I estimate our chances as no better than fifty-fifty_. _The cumulative probability of success is now very small._ "

There was an extended silence. " _Chakotay, are you ready with the trans-warp contingency_."

"As ready as we'll ever be Captain," Chakotay responded.

" _We'll press forward with our original plan, but_ _don't let them into your warp field. If any of them are getting close, I want the Sphere gone. Understood_?"

"Understood." Chakotay turned to B'Elanna and Seven. "Pull up the program and have it ready on my command."

"It was already loaded Chakotay," B'Elanna commented. The chief engineer seemed resigned to the fact that they might actually have to attempt trans-warp travel.

"How much time between when I give the command and we can enter the conduit?" Chakotay asked.

Seven knew he knew the answer, but apparently wanted confirmation. "Five to seven seconds," she replied.

"Harry, I want a countdown starting at sixty seconds as the next wave of Caatati approach."

"Yes sir."

"And put up the tactical map on the main screen. I want to see where everybody is."

Harry tapped in the commands and the map appeared. The sphere still in the center of the display. It was moving nearly perpendicular to the plane of the Galaxy. The three shuttlecraft were trailing behind and closing on various clusters of Caatiti ships in this next group. Two groups of three, and then four other single vessels spreading out to force one of the shuttles to pursue.

" _Closing on first vessel_ ," Andrews commented over the comm.

"Turn that off," Chakotay said. "We need to concentrate on our jobs."

Harry nodded and the comm was off.

"Cathal, how are the shields?"

"I've rerouted some power from the gravity plating and they're back up to ninety percent. Gravity down to point eight."

"Weapons?"

"Fully charged."

They all watched the map spellbound. One by one, the Caatati ships were disabled, but it was agonizingly slow. Each minute, they closed the gap with the Sphere. "They're having trouble," Harry commented, breaking the silence. "Sixty seconds."

"Steady," Chakotay said. "Prepare for trans-warp on my mark."

"Fifty seconds. Three vessels still converging. The _Ride_ is too far off to intercept... Forty-five seconds. One of the remaining Caatati vessels has been disabled... Forty seconds… Thirty seconds…"

It was clear to Seven that the other two vessels wouldn't be disabled or destroyed in time. Chakotay must have come to the same conclusion. "Engage trans-warp," he ordered, "and switch to external view."

"Energizing the matrix," Vorik replied immediately.

"Subspace field is forming," Seven said a moment later.

"There's the conduit," B'Elanna said. A multicolored distortion formed in front of the Sphere and folded in on itself. "Threshold in three, two, one…"

There was a sharp shift as the Sphere crossed the threshold. Both Chakotay and Seven were nearly knocked off their feet and an alarm started sounding at Cathal's station.

"What the hell was that!?" Chakotay shouted.

"A transdimensional shift across the subspace barrier" Seven said, regaining her footing and scanning the engineering console. "We're still in the conduit."

It had already been enough time at trans-warp speed to get them far enough away. "Get us out," Chakotay said.

"There's feedback in the tachyon matrix," Seven replied. Her fingers danced over the controls and she shook her head. "Compensating. Vorik, disengage the matrix."

"Powering down," Vorik replied.

"We're still in the conduit," Harry said nervously.

Seven studied the readouts. Core pressure was holding steady and the tachyon levels were now beginning to fall. "Don't worry," she finally said. "The conduit will collapse on its own and we will return to our warp field. Prepare for another shift."

"I don't know if we can take another shift," Cathal commented. "I'm detecting a crack in the Sphere's outer hull."

"Disengage weapons and divert all power to the shields," Chakotay ordered. He turned to Seven. "How long?" But as if in answer, there was another sharp jolt. Another transdimensional shift that Seven had warned about as the Sphere exited trans-warp space. More violent this time. Chakotay was knocked off his feet and fell to the floor with a grunt. Sparks and fire flew out of Cathal's deflector control station and he jumped away and fell to the floor as well.

Seven rushed to Chakotay and knelt. "I'm okay," he said groggily, still a bit dazed. There was a cut on his right temple where he must have hit the edge of a console.

Seven turned to Cathal who was holding his hands out in front of him having been burned by the console fire. Ayala was already at the station, having quickly put out the fire and was assessing the damage. Seven touched her comm badge. "Doctor, come to the bridge at once. We have injuries."

"Dropping out of warp." B'Elanna said. She was still at the engineering station. They could all hear the warp drive power down successfully. "Core pressure within limits. Everything looks fine here."

"Hull status," Chakotay croaked.

"We have a breach," Ayala said, "but shields are still up and holding and a force field is in place. I'll get a crew on it."

Chakotay nodded and Ayala left quickly nearly bumping into the Doctor who was just arriving. He started to approach Chakotay first, but Seven waved him off. "Treat Cathal, I'll look after the Commander." She pulled down a nearby medkit and took out a bandage, applying pressure to the wound. Curiously her hand was in nearly the same position as it was when Chakotay had held it there himself earlier. He must have realized the same thing and smiled as their eyes met.

"Commander, we have a problem," Harry said. He was studying the sensors and looked concerned. "We were in trans-warp for twenty-three seconds. Given our trajectory, we're…" He frowned as he studied the sensors some more.

"What is it Harry?"

"Sir, we're outside the Galaxy. A thousand or more light years from the nearest star."

"On screen," Chakotay said, and both he and Seven shifted to see the screen more directly.

Strictly speaking, Ensign Kim was incorrect in his statement. The Sphere was still well within the gravitational influence of the Galaxy, but they had left the plane of the Galaxy far below them and were now in a sparsely populated region of space. Intergalactic space. The elongated view of the Milky Way extended on either side, with the large central bulge glowing brightly before them. Typically the central part of the Galaxy was obscured by intervening dust in the plane, but now it shown in all its glory. Millions of stars surrounding the central black hole, the wisps of the spiral arms spreading outward on either side and below. It took a moment to take in what they were seeing.

"Where no one has gone before," Cathal said, the Doctor still bandaging his burnt hands.

Harry slowly scanned the visual so they could see more of what was about the Sphere. On one side, the blackness of intergalactic space with dim smudges of light showing relatively nearby globular clusters in the Milky Way's halo and a half dozen other distant galaxies of the Local Group, and on the other, the four hundred billion stars of the Milky Way itself. It felt as if they could see them all at once.

"Remarkable," Chakotay said after a time, and then asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "But can we get back?"

#

Author's note: Thank you for reading and to those who have left reviews. They do provide a great deal of encouragement and are appreciated.


	8. Back

Chapter 8 – Back

It was fourteen hours after the Sphere's transit through the trans-warp conduit. Seven spent much of that time analyzing the sensor record to ascertain the source of the transdimensional shifts and what caused the feedback in the tachyon matrix making them unable to exit the conduit. She saw Chakotay only sporadically during that time. He was everywhere about the Sphere as they repaired the damage, assessed systems, and completed the internal framework. He felt responsible for everyone and everything. Giving encouragement and making decisions as they prepared for whatever came next.

There were now eight of them crowded onto the bridge of the Sphere waiting for Chakotay. Seven glanced around at the assembled group and most everyone appeared a bit frayed about the edges. Ayala, B'Elanna Torres, Harry Kim and Marina Jor were all at their respective stations. Joe Carey was standing near B'Elanna while Neelix sat at deflector control where Cathal O'Donnell had been earlier. The Doctor was also there standing next to Neelix. She imagined she appeared just as disheveled as the others. She wore the same silver biosuit she had been in one week earlier when _Voyager_ was destroyed. At some point she should have to replicate another. The one exception was the holographic Doctor, of course. He appeared as he always did.

"Where is Chakotay anyway," B'Elanna asked. It took a moment for Seven to realize the question was directed towards her.

"I do not know," Seven replied. "I haven't seen him this past hour." A bit of B'Elanna's hair was sticking off to the side, as if she slept on it wrong, and unconsciously Seven reached up to her own hair. She discovered several strands that had come free and attempted to put them back in place. She was still getting used to having hair.

Chakotay then stepped onto the bridge, looking tired but somewhat refreshed. "Sorry I'm late," he said. Seven speculated he must have just finished taking a sonic shower. They had discovered it a few days earlier behind the lavatory in their quarters. Apparently each pod had one and fortunately most of the crew had also found theirs. Chakotay stepped up to what was now essentially the Captain's chair in the center of the bridge towards the back and sat down. It was decided that standing during another transdimensional shift, if they were to attempt trans-warp travel again, was not an option, and so each station, including the Captain, had a chair adhered to the floor. The only other big change was that the main screen had been moved forward to just in front of the pilot's station to cover the shuttlecraft's forward facing windows since those windows now only looked out into the Sphere.

"Okay," Chakotay said leaning back in his chair, attempting to get comfortable. "Let's go round the room and discuss where we stand. B'Elanna, we'll start with engineering."

B'Elanna rubbed her eyes. "We completed a level four diagnostic on all engineering systems. The good news is we're still within margins and the safety thresholds. The bad news is the increased energy throughput required for our journey through trans-warp has dramatically depleted the dilithium crystal. Extrapolating the deterioration, we could probably sustain another forty seconds in a trans-warp conduit. After that, we'd risk fracturing it. If that were to happen, we'd lose warp drive and be dead in space."

"We only need twenty or so seconds to get back to the Captain and the others," Harry Kim piped in.

Chakotay nodded. "What about life support and other key systems?"

"Diagnostics for those checked out fine," B'Elanna replied. "All in all, it's only the crystal I'm worried about. We don't have a replacement. It's unclear exactly how bad it is. At best we could go another three to five years no problem just under warp. I've asked Joe and his team to take a closer look with a subspace microscope after we clear out of here."

"Anything to add Joe?" Chakotay asked.

Carey shook his head. "As B'Elanna said, _best_ case is three to five years. I should have a better idea of where we stand in a few hours."

Harry shifted in his seat, clearly wanting to say something.

"Okay Harry, what do you have with sensors?"

"Sir, we are eleven hundred light years from the nearest star. At our maximum current speed, it would take us ten years to get there. Sixteen years to return to where we left the shuttlecraft. Over a hundred years to Earth."

"We're never going to get the Sphere over warp six," B'Elanna said. "The shuttle's engines weren't designed to operate using the field required to encase this much volume and mass."

"Now that I think about it, we haven't accounted for replicator use either," Carey added. "With no way to restock our supplies out here, I wouldn't be surprised if our anti-matter supply was depleted well before the crystals give out."

"Our only option is trans-warp," Harry concluded. "Joe's right. There's absolutely nothing in our vicinity. The gas and dust density is also essentially nonexistent."

Chakotay turned to Seven. "What about it. Can we risk another transit through trans-warp?"

It didn't sound like they had much choice. Seven looked about to everyone before addressing the group. It was something that she had noted Chakotay often did. "Vorik and I have poured over the sensor recordings. The transdimensional shifts we encountered are unavoidable, although we can modify the inertial dampers to compensate somewhat."

"Need I remind everyone we were lucky we didn't come apart at the seams the last time with those shifts," B'Elanna commented.

"It will still be a rough ride," Seven confirmed. "I believe, however, we've also come up with a way to eliminate the feedback in the tachyon matrix and better manage our exit from a conduit by reversing the tachyon flow using a plasma injector in the primary manifold. We've already made the required modifications. Unfortunately, the only way to test our hypotheses would be to actually try it in trans warp."

"Each test will deplete the dilithium further," Carey pointed out.

"And what happens if we end up staying in the conduit too long again and overshoot our target?" Harry added. "Our forty second window could be eaten away rather quickly."

"Whatever we decide," Seven continued, "I'm confident we can at least duplicate what we did before with forming and entering a trans-warp conduit. If we plan our trajectory to maximize our time within the Galactic plane, we could at least be assured of ending up close to a star system when we exit."

"But perhaps not close to the Captain and the others," the Doctor mused.

Chakotay frowned and turned to Ayala. "What about strengthening the Sphere to prepare for these shifts. How's the construction going?"

"We fixed the breach and are now on track to complete the internal structure in about eight hours. Gamma shift is on for the next three hours, and then alpha shift will take over to complete the work. I don't think the transdimensional shifts will compromise hull integrity once we're done."

"And the ships' other systems?"

Ayala shrugged. "Deflectors and phasers are both online and fully charged. Not sure what we'll need them for out here. Other than that, everything else checks out. Gravity plating, internal systems in all the pods, waste management all nominal."

"Piloting and navigational systems check out as well," Marina added from up front.

Chakotay nodded and rubbed his neck. Seven noted that although he just taken a sonic shower, he had neglected to remove the facial hair that had started to lengthen. Many of the male crew had this stubble, adding to their ruffled appearance. Finally Chakotay turned to the Doctor and Neelix. "What about crew health and morale?"

The Doctor glanced at Neelix and then turned back to Chakotay. "We only had the one injury. I expect Crewman O'Donnell will be back on duty by tomorrow. He's resting in his quarters. The half dozen who are still recuperating from injuries sustained during _Voyager_ 's evacuation and destruction are all still on track for a full recovery."

"Neelix, what about morale?"

"Not good, I'm afraid," Neelix replied. "It's difficult without ship-wide communication, but those I've talked to are unhappy we left the Captain and others behind. Aside from Ayala's work crews and B'Elanna's engineering teams, many are in their quarters without a well-defined job to accomplish in this new ship."

Chakotay clasped his hands in front of him and leaned his mouth and chin into them with his elbows on his knees. Seven felt he was overworking himself. Not only that, he was blaming himself for getting them out here in this situation. She needed to dissuade him of this thought as soon as they were alone together. "Well," Chakotay said after a moment of reflection. "Let's concentrate on finishing up the internal structure for now. Neelix, go around to everyone and tell them we'll convene in eight hours to discuss our plans."

Neelix looked around uncertain. "Where would we all meet?" he asked.

Chakotay sat back up and gestured to their surroundings. "We're in a sphere. If everyone simply steps out of their quarters, I can address the whole group from the central ring outside the bridge. I can then let everyone know how we're going to proceed at once."

"How are we going to proceed?" Harry asked.

"There's only one choice, of course," Chakotay said. Consciously or unconsciously, he had turned to Seven.

"Go back to find Captain Janeway and the others," Seven finished.

Chakotay nodded. He glanced around the bridge. "It's been a long day. Let's try and get some rest." He then turned to Joe Carey. "Joe, assemble your team. Start your inspection of the dilithium crystals as soon as possible and let us know the results."

"Aye sir."

There were nods and murmurs as most everyone stood and moved off the bridge on their way to their particular quarters somewhere in the Sphere. Soon enough, only Chakotay and Seven remained.

"The question is whether we try in one jump, or break it up into smaller pieces." He turned in his chair to face forward. The main screen showed a wide angle view of the Milky Way Galaxy below them. "Which star is it again?"

Seven stood and moved over to Harry's station. She typed in some commands and a portion of the image was enhanced and a faint blue-white star within the enhancement was highlighted. It was a spot to the right of the Galactic center, about midway to the outer edge of the most distant spiral arm and close to the plane. "Vega," Seven stated. "About twenty-five light years from the Sun and Earth." It was the closest star to Earth they could detect at this distance, the Sun being hidden behind an intervening cloud of dust and simply too faint, even for the sensors. The Alpha Quadrant. Their home.

"Still out of reach," Chakotay remarked, "but it's nice to finally see some familiar stars." In their three years in the Delta Quadrant, the intervening gas and dust within the Galactic Plane had previously obscured all views of the distant Alpha Quadrant. For Seven, having left as a child, it had been many more years.

"The light we are seeing from Vega is nearly twenty thousand years old," Seven remarked. "Back in the time of Earth's last ice age." It was always interesting to contemplate a view such as this. It was not only seeing a further distance, but also looking back in time. On the top edge of the view, Seven noted an elongated smudge of the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way's sister in the Local Group. Two million light years away. An image of nearly a half trillion stars formed by light that had been travelling for two million years to finally reach the Sphere's sensors perched here above the Milky Way.

"Both humbling and uplifting," Chakotay mused. "Our lives are measured in decades. Even the Borg's Hive Mind only in centuries. How insignificant when compared to the millions and billions of years as measured in both time and distance in this view. And yet, even though our physical existence in the universe is so brief, we have the intellect and consciousness to comprehend that fact. To understand both our insignificance and our magnificence." Chakotay put his hands up to rub his eyes and then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He looked exhausted.

Seven stepped up and reached her hand out. "Come. We should heed your advice and get some rest as well. Let me take you back to our quarters." Chakotay took Seven's hand and slowly rose out of the chair. Joe Carey and a half dozen others arrived as they were leaving the bridge.

Seven guided Chakotay to their quarters and inside and Chakotay immediately crumpled into his bed. "I'm just going to lay down for a bit," he said, his eyes half closed. Seven took the single blanket, which was bundled up at the bottom, and pulled it over to cover him. By the time she was finished, he was already asleep.

#

Seven looked about the interior structure of the Sphere. Both above and below, and outside most every former escape pod she could see, the Sphere's crew stood, minus the nine who were in the shuttlecraft over a thousand light years away. Chakotay was scanning the faces as well. He finally looked well rested, having slept most of the past eight hours. Much better than her estimate of four hours sleep per twenty-four hour interval since the evacuation and destruction of _Voyager_.

"I think that's everybody," Chakotay called out. The acoustics of the interior of the Sphere were such that his voice carried well throughout.

"What's the good news sir?" someone shouted back. Seven recognized the voice as Marina Jor's, up near the north pole of the Sphere. She was one of the Maquis crew members and the one who piloted the sphere when it made its transit through the conduit.

"By now, you all know our situation. We're still nearly twenty-thousand light years from Earth, and over a thousand light years from the nearest star and where we need to be. We intend to form another trans-warp conduit to reverse our course in an attempt to meet up with Captain Janeway and the others. Unfortunately, the precision we currently have in targeting our exit points is a problem. We intend to compensate for this somewhat by making the journey back in several short jumps. With each, we hope to improve our precision and eventually get to a point close to where we left."

"What about the Caatati?" someone else called out. It sounded like Kenneth Dalby, but whoever it was, he was blocked from Seven's view by the _Cochrane_.

Chakotay started walking about the interior perimeter walkway, perhaps realizing he couldn't see whoever called out as well and thus everyone couldn't see him. It was important for Chakotay to connect with everyone. The others on the walkway moved as well, and Seven, who had been standing next to Chakotay, followed. "Our planned trajectory will take us to a point between Caatati space and the direction the shuttlecraft would have gone if they resumed their course to the Alpha Quadrant. Our expectation is the Caatati have already given up their pursuit due to the superior speed of our ships, and we will in fact only rendezvous with our three shuttlecraft when we reach the end of our final conduit."

"When do we go?" This was from Ensign Jenny Delaney. She was just below the interior perimeter walkway in the first southern equatorial grouping of pods standing next to her sister Megan.

Chakotay turned to B'Elanna who was standing nearby on the interior perimeter with Joe Carey. "What's our status B'Elanna?"

Carey had finished the final testing on the dilithium crystal hours before and the results were about what were expected. Ayala's team had just completed the Sphere's internal structure. B'Elanna looked about and called out "We're as ready as we'll ever be."

This was met with calls of agreement. "Let's get going!" someone shouted above the rest.

Chakotay raised his hands and the crew quieted. "Okay everybody," he said and started walking the interior perimeter again, scanning the Sphere and meeting eyes with various individuals. "It's going to be a little rough as we enter and exit the conduits. We'll have a few of us on the bridge, but the rest of you I want secured in quarters with the hatches sealed just in case of another hull breech. Signal the bridge when you're settled in and ready. If all goes as planned, we'll be back where we're supposed to be within the hour." He nodded and turned around one final time to scan the interior. "Let's get going," he said, repeating the earlier sentiment.

Everyone started moving back into the pods that served as their quarters. Seven turned to head back to the bridge with Chakotay. When they arrived, B'Elanna and Harry were already there, and one by one, the others filtered in. Vorik took his station at the secondary engineering station and Joe Carey replaced the injured Cathal O'Donnell at deflector control. Marina Jor was the last to arrive, moving forward to her position at the helm.

"Has everyone checked in," Chakotay asked from the Captain's chair.

"All pods have checked in and are secure," Harry replied.

Chakotay nodded. "So we'll start with five second jumps," he said. "At the end of each, Harry, I want you to quickly ascertain our position and feed the appropriate course correction to Marina. We'll do four jumps and then hold to see where things stand and prepare for a final jump to our desired end point."

Everybody nodded in agreement.

Chakotay seemed satisfied. He turned to B'Elanna. "Engage warp engines and bring us to warp two."

"Engaging warp engines," B'Elanna responded.

"Course plotted and laid in," Marina added.

The familiar sound of the engines at warp filled the bridge. From outside, the blue glow of the nacelles filled the interior of the Sphere.

"Harry, put the forward facing hemisphere's visual on screen," Chakotay ordered. The view ahead showed the Milky Way, although there was no sensation of motion because there were no warp streaked stars to pass. A curious sensation of being at warp but not being able to see the motion.

"Okay, here we go," Chakotay said, leaning back and grabbing hold of his chair's armrests. "Engage trans-warp."

"Energizing the matrix," Vorik confirmed.

"Subspace field is forming," Seven verified.

"And there's the conduit," B'Elanna said. Again, as before, a multicolored distortion formed in front of the Sphere and folded in on itself. It was contained in the warp bubble and was moving towards the Sphere. "Threshold in three, two, one…"

There was the transdimensional shift as the Sphere crossed the threshold, as expected. They were all prepared for it this time and continued into the conduit without incident. The swirling display of light and color from within filled the screen.

"Preparing to reverse tachyon flow," Vorik said. "In three, two, one, reversed."

"We're coming out of the conduit," Seven said. Again, there was a shift. A little more violent this time, but still manageable. "We're out." There was the same view of the Milky Way, not too much different than before.

"A one point two second overshoot," Vorik said, tapping on some of the controls at his station.

"Confirmed," Harry said. "We went slightly long, but still on course."

Seven had been making calculations based on that first jump. "Change the threshold to point eight five and prepare to energize the matrix again," Seven said.

"Aye," Vorik replied. "Ready to proceed."

Seven turned to Chakotay and he nodded. "Engage trans-warp."

"Energizing the matrix."

"Subspace field is forming."

"And there's another conduit."

Yet another jolt, but again no problem.

"Reversing tachyon flow… now."

The exiting jolt, again a bit stronger than the entrance. Seven decided she didn't need to announce they were out of the conduit since the jolts and the external visual on the screen made that clearly evident.

"A point zero five second undershoot this time," Vorik said.

Seven did a quick calculation. "Change the threshold to point eight five seven three five."

"Confirmed. Point eight five seven three five."

"Prepare to energize the matrix again."

"Hold," B'Elanna interrupted. She was studying something on her display. "There's an instability forming in the crystal."

"Already?" Chakotay asked.

B'Elanna was shaking her head as she examined the readouts. "Joe, take a look at this."

Carey stood and moved over to B'Elanna's station. B'Elanna was pointing to a spot on one of the displays. "It appears as if there's a cascading effect along the outer edge," Carey said.

"What does that mean?" Chakotay asked.

"It's not good news," B'Elanna snapped back. She turned to Carey. "Can we reroute some of the flow to the other side?" Both Carey and B'Elanna started working, tapping out commands.

"B'Elanna," Chakotay said after waiting nearly half a minute. "What's the status? Do we abort?"

B'Elanna didn't answer at first, but then turned to face Chakotay directly. "The degradation is progressive. The successive transdimensional shifts are causing more damage than we thought. If we're going to get another jump through trans-warp, we have to do it now."

Chakotay nodded. "Seven, calculate one final jump," he ordered.

"I need an exact distance."

"We're still almost five hundred light years from our intended end point," Harry replied.

"More exact than that ensign!" Seven snapped.

Harry hesitated. "It's difficult to triangulate and obtain precision with no nearby references," he finally said. "Best estimate is four hundred ninety three light years."

"Energizing the matrix," Vorik said, not waiting for Chakotay's command.

"We're set," Seven said after completing the calculation for the transit time. The subspace field formed and the trans-warp conduit opened, but neither Seven nor B'Elanna said anything as they had done before. The main screen showed it plainly enough. Carey quickly returned to his station just before the entrance jolt into the conduit.

After only a few seconds in the conduit, an alarm sounded from B'Elanna's engineering station. "The crystal is destabilizing," she said.

"Steady," Chakotay said to everyone on the bridge, including himself. "Steady as she goes."

Everyone held their breath for the remaining few seconds. Vorik broke the silence. "Reversing tachyon flow..."

Suddenly there was a jolt much stronger than all the previous. There must have been a glitch in the gravity plating or inertial dampers, because it felt to Seven as if they were momentarily spun around and upside down. Alarms were sounding at all the stations and the lighting went out. For a few seconds, the entire bridge was in complete darkness, but then the red emergency lighting started to flicker on and other systems rebooted on auxiliary power. One by one, the alarms turned off.

"We're not only out of the conduit, but we've dropped out of warp," B'Elanna said, studying her board. "Most controls are dead and some plasma relays are fused. We're going to have to reroute power through auxiliary systems."

"Hull integrity intact," Ayala added. He didn't really need the readings at his station to determine that. The interior of the Sphere, after all, still contained an atmosphere. "Gravity is down to point eight, but we're still in one piece."

"But where are we?" Chakotay said. "Harry, can we get the main screen back?"

In the dim light, Seven could see Ensign Kim studying the output and controls. He was shaking his head. "Sensors are all offline," he finally said. "There's no power to any of them. We're blind."

"And dead in space as we feared," B'Elanna added. "The dilithium crystal has completely fractured."

About the Sphere, sounds of those emerging from their quarters could be heard. They had taken a beating and survived, but it was unclear if their current situation was any better than where they came from. In at least one way it was worse since the warp drive was offline. Seven moved from her position, most of the displays dead anyway, over to where Chakotay was seated. She placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to relay a small measure of comfort. They were at least all alive.

There was a beeping at Harry's station. "Sir," Harry said excited. "I'm receiving a hail."

"On speakers," Chakotay replied, leaning forward.

At first there was only static, but then the clear and strong voice of Captain Janeway.

" _Sphere, this is the Tereshkova. We have you on sensors and are moving to your position. Welcome back_."


	9. Out of the Delta Quadrant

Chapter 9 – Out of the Delta Quadrant

It was three days after the Sphere and shuttlecraft were reunited and preparations for the trans-warp trip back to the Alpha Quadrant were progressing rapidly. The crew had settled into an efficient routine and both Seven and Chakotay had been busy with their respective duties of preparing the Sphere for the journey. They were apart for much of the day, but at the end of each shift, it was pleasant to get some time alone together before regenerating.

It was now mid-day, ship time, and Seven moved along the interior perimeter walkway to a spot where a ladder jutted down directly behind the bridge. She started up and as she did the effective gravity was reduced by half making climbing easier. Although the ladder started bending inward, roughly following the shape of the Sphere, the artificial gravity adjusted as well so she always felt as if she was climbing upward. This was to accommodate the orientation of all the various pods that made up the Sphere. There were ladders and walkways all about the interior to help in getting around. Not as convenient as the corridors and turbolifts of _Voyager_ , but efficient enough. It was originally a bit disconcerting to watch people seemingly defy gravity as they moved about the Sphere, but now more of the interior was filled with shuttlecraft components and so blocked the view across the diameter. If you concentrated on your immediate surroundings, the gravitational changes were subtle enough to work fairly seamlessly. At the top was another set of platforms that serviced the ring of pods near the Sphere's north pole. One of the northern rim pods had become the Sphere's de facto sickbay and it was here where Seven was headed. The hatch was open and Seven stepped inside.

The Doctor was the sole occupant and turned from where he was sitting at the small desk. "Ah, a customer," he said amiably. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

Seven hesitated. She had had limited interaction with the emergency medical hologram after the first few days aboard _Voyager_ when he extracted the majority of her Borg components. It was fortunate he didn't perish along with _Voyager_ since his algorithms were originally integrated with the ship's systems. The mobile emitter Captain Janeway had acquired from the future literally saved his program. "It is not an emergency," Seven finally replied.

The Doctor stood and waved his hand. "Never mind me," he said. "An old habit. How can I help you?"

"I'm having a sharp pain in my shoulder when I raise my arm above a certain height."

"Then don't raise your arm above that height," the Doctor replied with a smile, and after getting a blank stare from Seven, shook his head. "Forgive me again. I think I'm getting a bit punchy in this confined space. I miss my old sickbay." He pointed to one of the chairs on the side of the pod. "Please take a seat," he said and turned back to the desk to pick up a medical tricorder and scanner. After Seven was seated, he passed the device over Seven's shoulder. How the Doctor, a holographic medical program albeit a sophisticated one, could get 'punchy' as he described alluded Seven. The Doctor adjusted some settings on the tricorder and then scanned again.

"What is it Doctor?" Seven asked when he frowned at the results.

"Your biradial clamp has come out of alignment."

"A Borg component." Seven observed. "Then why is it causing me pain?"

"It appears to be rubbing against some nerves. For some reason, your cortical node has not compensated for the misalignment."

"Can we simply remove the implant?"

"Not if you want to still be able to use that arm," the Doctor replied matter-of-factly. "We'll have to adjust it back into its proper alignment."

Just then Crewman Cathal O'Donnell came in. He was holding his hands out in front of him and appeared distressed. "Doc, my hands are getting worse," he said before realizing Seven was there. He stopped short of bumping into Seven. "Sorry."

The Doctor was moving back to his desk to get the correct instrument to adjust Seven's biradial clamp. "Dermal regeneration sometimes has that side effect," the Doctor said to Cathal over his shoulder. "It should clear up in a few days."

"Another few days? It feels as if there's bugs crawling under my skin." Cathal was still holding his hands out as if he was afraid to touch them to anything.

The Doctor moved back towards Seven. "I can give you a topical analgesic to reduce the symptoms, but you'll have to wait your turn." He placed the new device near Seven's shoulder and muttered, "When it rains, it pours." He made a few more adjustments to the device. "This will take me a few minutes to complete. If we were on _Voyager_ , I could make this adjustment in just a few seconds."

Cathal moved over to one of the seats opposite Seven and sat down. The three of them were quiet as the Doctor performed the procedure.

"I've heard the Captain has made the final decision and intends to use trans-warp as soon as we finish dismantling the other shuttlecraft," Cathal said breaking the silence.

"That is my understanding as well," Seven said. In fact, she had discussed the plan extensively with Chakotay earlier in the day. It should happen any time now.

"I wouldn't know," the Doctor put in, looking up from the instrument briefly. "I've been stuck up here with a faulty comm and haven't been privy to the latest developments."

"The Captain does not want to leave any technology behind," Seven continued, obliging the Doctor to fill him in on the details. "The three other shuttlecraft have been dismantled and are being stored within the Sphere. Most all of their parts can be used for spares, and the dilithium crystals will be used for our trans-warp travel. The anti-matter supplies will be stored for future use."

"When we make it to the Alpha Quadrant," Cathal said, "we won't need it."

"It will be close," Seven replied. "We have four crystals. Three from each of the shuttlecraft's warp engines, and the _Liu_ had a spare. Depending on how far we get on each, the Captain may decide to take a hiatus in our journey to search for more dilithium. In any case, if we come up short, we can continue under warp drive from there."

"We should stay in the conduit until each crystal fractures to get as far as we can," Cathal commented.

"We need to have a working crystal to operate the warp drive even if it is not sufficient for trans-warp," Seven countered. "There is also a concern with the structural integrity of the Sphere through the transdimensional shifts if the crystal fractures as it did in our return journey from outside the plane."

"Seal everyone in the escape pods," Cathal replied. "If there's a breach, no problem."

"The bridge is open to the Sphere's interior," Seven pointed out.

Cathal shrugged. "Those on the bridge could wear EVA suits just in case."

Seven frowned. Cathal was very eager to get back, and now that it seemed so close, was willing to take extra risks. Seven had noted that many on the crew shared this view. Even Chakotay, to some extent. He was eager to get back to rejoin the Maquis resistance. For Seven, she was uncertain what awaited her in the Alpha Quadrant. There was only one thing she now desired, and that was right here with her in the Sphere.

"It's been just over three years," Cathal mused. "I wonder what we'll find when we get back. How are the Maquis holding up in the demilitarized zone? What are the Cardassians up to?"

"For me it has been over twenty years," Seven observed. If she thought about it, she could provide the exact time interval. She didn't want to think about it.

"I was activated just once in the Alpha Quadrant, and then only for a few seconds," the Doctor offered.

"I wonder what we'll find," Cathal repeated. He turned to face Seven. This past day, he had seemed to be wanting to say something to her. Perhaps to ask those questions he alluded to days earlier. "Isn't it funny? _Voyager_ had to be destroyed to give us this opportunity to get back. If it wasn't for you, who knows when we'd get back?"

"I am certain Captain Janeway would have found a way back to the Alpha Quadrant."

"You don't know that. We may have been wandering for years. Decades. Who knows how many more of us would have been lost here in the Delta Quadrant."

"It does seem that each new week brings yet another disaster," the Doctor commented.

"We're not back yet," Seven observed, and then more quietly "Hágase tu voluntad." An echo from the past.

Cathal seemed surprised, but then grunted. "Chakotay's mom would say that all the time, particularly when we had to wait to find out what would happen." Perhaps that was why it had come to mind. Indeed, it was something Chakotay's mother would have said in a similar situation. Seven had grown to admire Chakotay's mother through the memories she now had of her. Intelligent and yet modest, filled with wisdom and grace. Someone who gave of herself unconditionally and was at peace with who she was and brought peace to those around her. By contrast, Seven's memories of her own mother were sparse. What recollections she did have involved her parents' research of the Borg and no 'words of wisdom' or the like for their young daughter. For Cathal, he and Chakotay had grown up together on nearby colony worlds. Several instances on Dorvan V and Pax came readily to mind. Cathal couldn't have been more than ten years old when Chakotay's mother died, and yet he remembered this about her. A mother's comfort and prayer.

Seven shifted uncomfortably. Cathal was looking at her intently, perhaps wondering about the unique link she now had with Chakotay. She wasn't sure what he knew and didn't want to go into all that right now. "As you pointed out, we have no idea what we might find when we do arrive in the Alpha Quadrant."

The Doctor stepped back. "I'm done," he said. "Now lift your arm up above your head."

Seven did as she was instructed. The pain was gone. "Thank you Doctor."

The Doctor then turned to Cathal. "Now let's take care of those bugs under your skin."

It appeared the Doctor was already on to the next patient. Seven stood and moved to the pod's entrance, eager to leave and end the conversation.

"Wait," Cathal called. Seven turned back. Cathal was standing. He apparently hadn't yet said what he wanted to get out. His expression was conflicted. "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry."

Sorry for believing she sabotaged the trans-warp test that led to the destruction of _Voyager_. Sorry for planning to maroon her in a derelict escape pod. Sorry for trying to kill her. Seven couldn't help but draw upon Chakotay's memories yet again for a proper response. "No worries Cathal," she said. "We're good." She moved towards the ladder, quietly cherishing the surprised looks on both Cathal and the Doctor's faces.

As she descended, another crewman caught her eye exiting one of the pods along the mid-northern ring. It was Ensign Lyndsay Ballard, one of _Voyager_ 's engineers and a friend of Ensign Kim's. "Seven, do you have a moment," she called out. Seven stepped off the ladder onto the appropriate walkway.

"How can I help you ensign?" Seven asked.

"Please," the young woman said with a smile. "Call me Lyndsay."

Seven nodded, but remained quiet.

"When we get back to the Alpha Quadrant, there might be difficulties."

"What sort of difficulties?"

"With the Maquis members on the crew, and…"

Everyone was thinking about what they might find when they got back. Lyndsay seemed reluctant to continue with the rest of her sentence, but Seven got the idea. "The fact that I am Borg," Seven finished.

"You _were_ Borg," Lyndsay corrected. "But that still might be a problem. I don't know, but I wanted you to know we're all behind you Seven. We're going to all get through this together."

This sort of sentiment was becoming more common. At first Seven thought the crew's acceptance of her now was due to her growing closeness with Chakotay. It was true that most on the crew didn't seem to give the fact that she and Chakotay shared quarters a second thought. The tragedy of _Voyager_ 's destruction, however, had brought everyone on the crew closer together, and Seven appeared to be included as part of the greater group and benefit from this as well. "Thank you Lyndsay," Seven said. "I appreciate it."

Lyndsay glanced about. "Any time now," she said, with a bit of excitement. "The Captain just called for all personnel to secure themselves in their pods. I guess she doesn't want to waste another minute."

"I missed that announcement," Seven said. Perhaps the Doctor's pod had a faulty comm after all.

Lyndsay nodded. "I think this is it."

"I better get to the bridge," Seven replied. She nodded and moved back to the ladder to go down to the interior perimeter walkway. She had to wait for someone else who was coming up on the ladder to the level she was on. She recognized the crewman, a human female with blonde hair like her own, but didn't recall her name. Possibly one of _Voyager_ 's pilots, Seven thought. She would have to check the crew manifest. The woman nodded and smiled as she stepped off onto the platform and then moved off to her pod.

When Seven finally arrived, the rest of the bridge crew was already in place.

"There you are Seven," Captain Janeway said. She was sitting in the Captain's chair.

"I apologize Captain," Seven replied. "I didn't hear the call."

The Captain waved her hand dismissively. "We would have waited for you." Lieutenant Commander Tuvok was at sensors, Lieutenant Paris at the helm, Lieutenant Torres at the engineering station and Ensign Vorik at the secondary station. Chakotay was at deflector and weapons control and Seven moved over next to him to take the seat at her station to manage the trans-warp jumps. He reached out his hand and found hers and gave it a squeeze. It was remarkable how much could be conveyed in such a simple gesture.

The Captain turned to Tuvok. "Tuvok, have you heard from everyone?"

Tuvok turned and nodded. "The Doctor was the last to report in. All pods have been sealed and everyone is secured inside."

The Captain seemed pleased. This was it. This was the moment she had been waiting for, for the past three years. The long exile in the Delta Quadrant was almost over. They were now mere moments away from home. "Patch me in to everyone's comm," she said and then waited for Tuvok to give her the signal. "All hands, prepare for trans-warp travel to the Alpha Quadrant." She then raised her hand and pointed it forward towards the view screen. "Engage."

#

Seven opened her eyes sluggishly. It felt as if there were weights on them. "Chakotay…?" she whispered.

"We just have a few questions for you," someone said. The soft male voice was unfamiliar and mechanical, as if it was over a comm and not in person, and yet it surrounded her. Seven's eyes were having difficulty focusing. She was in a chair in a bare metallic gray room. Bright lights all around. She couldn't move her legs, but not because they were restrained. There were braces on them. She had been injured. She reached up to rub her eyes and then looked at her hands. There was dried blood on her fingertips. "Where am I?"

"You are aboard a Federation starship," the disembodied voice from nowhere and everywhere answered. Seven imagined it was echoing in her head. "We need to ask you some questions. What is your name?"

"Where's Chakotay?" Seven asked. The last she could remember, the Sphere was entering trans-warp on its way to the Alpha Quadrant. Did he just say she was aboard a Federation starship? Then they had made it, but… why couldn't she remember? Bits and pieces of memories floated on the edge of recollection. Several jumps. There had been a problem with the Sphere's structure… Seven heard some indistinct murmuring, and then she felt a prick of a hypospray in her neck.

"We are more concerned with you right now," the voice said calmly. "What is your name?"

"Annika Hansen," she replied. She wanted to scream. She needed to know what had happened, but couldn't articulate it. Instead, she waited for the next question.

"What is your… designation?" the voice asked after a pause.

"Seven of Nine, tertiary adjunct to Unimatrix Zero-One," she answered. She couldn't help but comply. A truth serum, perhaps. Her mind felt somewhat detached from the rest of her. A memory from Chakotay told her that Star Fleet allowed interrogations of this sort only during times of war.

"How did you get here?"

"Trans-warp conduit," she answered automatically, without thought.

"Did the Borg send you here?"

"No."

Now there was a longer pause. In the interim, Seven tried to piece together what happened, but her mind wasn't functioning as it should. They had been on the bridge of the Sphere. Only the three of them left for that last jump – Captain Janeway, Chakotay, and herself. They were in EVA suits. The rest had been sent to quarters. The Captain was at the helm with Chakotay at sensors while she monitored trans-warp. They were close to the threshold when the last crystal fractured prematurely. The Sphere was breaking apart. She and Chakotay were thrown from their chairs and out onto the walkway. Captain Janeway helped them back to their quarters…

"There is an Annika Hansen, daughter of Magnus and Erin, who was last registered aboard the SS Raven twenty one years ago during a visit to Drexler outpost in the Omega Sector. Soon after, the SS Raven deviated from the filed flight plan at Deep Space Four and crossed into the Romulan Neutral Zone and was never heard from again. Are you that Annika Hansen?"

"Yes."

"Where were you born?"

"Dorvan Five."

A pause. "You were born on Dorvan Five?"

"Yes… no," Seven responded. She had to untangle her memories. It was more difficult than it should be. Or more specifically, she didn't seem to have much control over it. "Tendara. Tendara colony."

"Where have you been these past twenty one years?"

"My parents tracked down signs of the Borg for eight months leading them into Romulan space and finally found and followed a cube through a trans-warp conduit to Borg space. They studied the Borg for two years, eleven months and seventeen days before a subspace particle storm damaged the Raven's sensors and shielding. We were immediately discovered and deemed a threat and were all assimilated shortly thereafter. I had just turned six. I spent nine months in a maturation chamber to accelerate my growth, and then seventeen years, ten months and sixteen days as a drone, eventually obtaining the designation of Seven of Nine tertiary adjunct to Unimatrix Zero-One where I worked in close proximity to the Borg Queen. Thirty-seven days ago, the Borg formed an alliance with _Voyager_ and I was selected as the liaison between the Borg and Captain Janeway. Twenty three days ago, Captain Janeway severed my link to the Hive Mind and I've been with the crew of _Voyager_ since that time."

"Where is _Voyager_ now?"

"Destroyed."

"How was it destroyed?"

"During a trans-warp static test, there was feedback from the deflector. The tachyon levels rose to a resonant frequency causing core pressure to increase. We were unable to eject the core and abandoned ship. Minutes later, the core breached resulting in the complete destruction of _Voyager_."

"There was some debris from _Voyager_ that exited the trans-warp conduit with the escape pods. Was _Voyager_ destroyed during trans-warp travel?"

" _Voyager_ was destroyed before we traveled in trans-warp."

"Then how did the _Voyager_ debris get here?"

"We built another vessel from the escape pods, the _Voyager_ wreckage, and the remaining shuttlecraft."

"Where was _Voyager_ destroyed?"

"Spatial grid four, sixty-three, twelve. Delta Quadrant." There was something else Seven desperately wanted to ask, but hadn't been able to get her mouth to say the words. What had happened to the rest of the crew? The other escape pods. What had happened to Chakotay? "Where…" she struggled.

"Try to relax. We have just a few more questions," the voice interrupted. "You said that an alliance was formed with the Borg."

"Yes. Captain Janeway formed an alliance with the Borg. I was the Borg liaison aboard _Voyager_."

"Why did Captain Janeway form this alliance?"

"For safe passage through Borg space."

"And what did the Borg receive in return?"

"Borg nanoprobes modified by _Voyager_ 's Doctor to be used to defeat Species 8472."

"Captain Janeway ordered _Voyager_ 's emergency medical hologram program to create a weapon for the Borg?"

"No. The modified nanoprobes were originally developed to treat a _Voyager_ crewman who had been infected by Species 8472."

"And Captain Janeway authorized the weaponization of the treatment?"

"Yes," Seven responded. This disembodied voice was emotionless yet felt hostile. "Species 8472 posed a significant threat to both the Borg and the rest of the Galaxy," she felt compelled to add.

"Species 8472," the voice repeated. "Beings from fluidic space with whom the Borg had initiated hostilities?"

"Yes," Seven confirmed. It was clear that whoever was interrogating her must have much of this information from other sources. Perhaps other interrogations. They might be simply corroborating certain information with her. But… who else survived from the Sphere? Was Chakotay still alive? The question taunted her, but she was unable to articulate it nor remember.

"Did the Borg defeat Species 8472?"

"In all likelihood, yes, but I don't know."

"Are the Borg planning an invasion of the Alpha Quadrant?"

"I…Chakotay…" she was able to finally get out instead.

"Be patient, you're almost there. Are the Borg planning an invasion?" the voice repeated.

Seven closed her eyes, summoning in her all the power she could to resist answering. She wanted to know what had happened, but the urge to answer was too powerful. It was almost as if the more she resisted, the less control she had. Resistance was, after all, futile. "Yes!" she blurted out.

"When?"

"Undefined, but eventually. The war…" She was thinking again about the Borg's recent war with Species 8472. Had the Borg defeated the enemy? The bioships had been in retreat. It mattered significantly more to her than it should. Was the Collective safe?

"Finish your thought," the voice commanded.

"The war with Species 8472 may have changed our timeline. I am no longer connected to the Collective. I don't know when. I don't know. But we know of Earth. We know of all the various species in the alpha quadrant through our two probes into your space. In the first, a single cube destroyed much of Star Fleet at Wolf 359. In the second, your defenses were not much better and we penetrated your space and reached Earth. The only concern we have are with the Organians and the Tholians. All the species contained in the Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, and all comparable Alpha Quadrant confederations are viewed by us as a future drone reservoir when needed. All of you will be unable to resist when we do assemble and mount an invasion with an assimilation fleet. Hundreds of cubes, with their strength only growing as worlds fall and are assimilated."

"Describe the Borg."

"There were 413 billion drones on 123 worlds, 2137 cubes and 10486 spheres distributed throughout both the Core and Realm at the time I was disconnected from the Collective. We occupy twenty-three percent, by volume, of the Delta Quadrant."

"How do we defeat the Borg?"

"There is no way to defeat us."

"Hypothetically, how would we defeat the Borg?"

"You will fail."

"Explain."

"You would have to attack and eliminate the Hive Mind. The Borg is a single entity. An assimilation fleet but one tentacle. Even if the entire fleet is defeated, it is but a small fraction of the whole and can be easily replaced. The central control, the brain, is the Hive Mind."

"A single point of failure," the voice commented. "How do we attack the Hive Mind directly?"

"That is the point. You can't. We are distributed about the entirety of the Collective. In each biomechanical structure. In each drone. To attack the Hive Mind, you must attack every portion of the Borg simultaneously."

"If we can't attack the Hive Mind directly, what can we do?"

"You don't resist our drive towards perfection and willingly become added to the biological and technological diversity of the Borg. Our goal is peace throughout the Galaxy. Our goal is perfection."

"What if we decide to resist?"

"Resistance is futile."

"How do we resist?"

"You will be assimilated. You will become one with the Borg. You will serve the greater good."

"How do we resist?" the voice persisted.

"You prepare to defend what worlds you can. Develop a defense, or be assimilated."

There was a longer pause this time. Seven was able to finally process what she was saying and recoiled. It was as if the portion of her mind that was the Borg drone had spoken without her consent or control. They were obviously assessing the Borg threat. Perhaps all the previous questions were superfluous leading up this this last set of questions. She would have gladly told them all they needed to know if they had simply asked, but perhaps not in such a manner. The fact that this drone was still buried within her mind horrified her. But that was all irrelevant. More important to Seven now was to piece together what happened to the Sphere. To hang on to the human she had become. She again tried to think back to that last jump within the transwarp conduit. They were on their last dilithium crystal. They rode the conduit until the crystal fractured prematurely. Hull integrity was lost when the Sphere crossed that final transdimensional shift.

"We'll have more questions later," the voice finally said, interrupting her thoughts. "For now, we have one final question. How did you survive the breakup of your vessel in the trans-warp conduit?" Finally! Something she wanted to know as well.

"We made it to our quarters," Seven replied, remembering as she said it. They had had no time to seal the helmets on their EVA suits. Chakotay was hurt. Captain Janeway had pushed them all through the threshold. The three of them had entered, closing the hatch just as the inner ring of pods were separated from the rest of the structure.

"The escape pod we found you in?"

"Yes."

"You and Commander Chakotay?"

"Yes." And then she remembered more. He was alive! He was still breathing when she placed her head on his chest. Cradling him in her arms. "And Captain Janeway," she added tentatively. There had been three of them, hadn't there?

"Captain Janeway was found in the shuttle," the voice said.

But how was that possible? The rear hatch of the _Cochrane_ was forced open, but of course she was also in an EVA suit. She could have survived that way…

"How did you and Commander Chakotay survive and get to the escape pod?" the voice asked again, but this time confirming that Chakotay was indeed still alive. A rush of relief again swept through her. The feeling enabled her to further push the Borg drone back into the corner of her mind.

"We made it to our quarters," Seven repeated, but this time not as certain as before. If it wasn't Captain Janeway, then who? "Someone guided us there," she added. But that didn't seem right. Everyone else was sealed and secured in their pods.

"Both of you were severely injured when we found you," the voice said. "Commander Chakotay sustained a concussion during the initial break-up and was unconscious. Both your legs were broken, although your nanoprobes are enacting repairs. Despite this, you must have carried him to the escape pod before you lost consciousness as well."

"I was holding him," Seven confirmed, again remembering as she said it. She did carry him to the escape pod. It was difficult. She must have still been holding him when she too became unconscious after shutting the hatch. They must have been in each other's arms when they were found. "And someone was holding me."

"There was no one else in the escape pod," the voice replied.

But there was! Seven thought. In the confusion. The force fields failing and the cacophony of tortured metal as the other pods peeled away. The multi-colored warping of the trans-warp threshold visible through cracks in the Sphere. Someone had guided her. And then she had a vision of who. A young girl, glowing, with a blue veil of stars. Seven recognized her from Chakotay's memories. From his pilgrimage with his mother to Mexico City when he was a boy, but how was that possible? The girl had whispered in her ear. She had called Seven her littlest daughter. She had held Seven and pushed Chakotay and her through the threshold. She had held Seven as Seven had held Chakotay. Was it just her imagination? A hallucination?

It didn't matter. They had survived and Chakotay lived. That was the most important thing. She heard a voice in her head. An echo from the past. 'Hágase tu voluntad.' A mother's comfort and prayer. The Borg drone within her was now completely contained and she felt released. Human again. "Please let me see him," she begged. "Please."

The voice didn't respond. There was another hiss of a hypospray, and then blackness.


	10. Together

Chapter 10 – Together

Seven opened her eyes. She was laying on a hard surface, although there was a pillow under her head. It took her a few moments for her mind to clear. And then she remembered. She had been interrogated, and recalled every detail. How she felt, and what she said. Somehow they had reached into her mind and found the Borg drone she once was. It was frightening to think that just a few short weeks before, that _was_ who she was. 'I will betray you,' she had said to them when they first disconnected her from the Hive Mind. She closed her eyes again and cringed at the thought. The things she had said. She felt as if she had betrayed them after all.

"Seven," someone called out close by.

Seven sat up and looked about. She recognized the place. Not that she had been there specifically before, but apparently Star Fleet brigs all had a similar design. It was not too long ago when Captain Janeway had her incarcerated in a similar place. In an adjacent cell, B'Elanna Torres was looking back at her. The other cells appeared empty, and a Star Fleet ensign manned the station at the far end of the room. Although it appeared there was nothing between them, Seven knew by the glow along the perimeter of the opening, there were force fields keeping both of them inside.

"You've been regenerating for hours," B'Elanna commented. She appeared agitated. "They brought you in unconscious and then hooked you up."

Seven glanced down. There was something about her wrist. Again, it took her a few moments to realize what it was. Her regeneration bracelet from the escape pod. She followed the cables back to a wall beside where she had been laying. "We made it back," Seven said and she unhooked the bracelet.

B'Elanna raised her hands. "Welcome to the Alpha Quadrant. A bunch of pataks!" She turned and glared at the ensign at the other side of the room. "Yes you too!"

"Why are we in the brig?" Seven asked, although in her case, she suspected she knew why. The questions the interrogator asked made that perfectly clear. Star Fleet was obviously concerned about the Borg and whether she could be trusted. Given what she said, she wondered if she could be trusted. But if they also distrusted the Maquis, why was only B'Elanna here?

"I didn't much care for the questions my interrogator was asking and the tone of his voice. I think I broke his nose." B'Elanna grinned at the though and again turned towards the ensign. "Is your friend okay?" she taunted. "I'm ready to answer a few more questions anytime!"

"I never saw the person interrogating me," Seven commented. She stood tentatively and tested her legs. She was told they had been broken, but she only felt slightly sore. The nanoprobes in her blood must have finished the requisite repairs while she regenerated. The _Borg_ nanoprobes, she thought with disgust. Seven looked at her hand. The Borg sensors still traced from her fingertips up to her bicep. It was a part of her and would likely always be a part of her. She would never be rid of the Borg. "They asked about the Borg, and so I assume Star Fleet's fear over the Borg has placed me here. I think I was given some sort of truth serum and they reached inside of me to expose the drone within."

B'Elanna appeared shocked. She stepped over to the corner of her cell closest to Seven's. "You're kidding," she said quietly.

Seven was touched by B'Elanna's sudden concern. She shook her head. "No, I am fairly certain they did."

B'Elanna sighed and then turned away. "I've never heard of Star Fleet going to such an extreme before. Even in all my time with the Maquis."

"I think," Seven began tentatively, remembering some of Chakotay's memories, "It's only used in time of war."

Now B'Elanna was nodding. "You know, he never actually said it, that patak who was questioning me, but I bet you that's it." She began pacing in her cell. "He mentioned something about the Cardassians having an ally when they destroyed the Maquis, but he never actually came out and said the Federation was at war. That must be it."

"What questions did he ask you?"

"Mainly about the trans-warp drive. How we got back. Specific details about the tachyon matrix and reversing the flow with the plasma injector."

"And you hit him when he told you about the Maquis?" Seven guessed.

B'Elanna frowned. "He seemed to get a bit too much pleasure out of informing me of the Maquis' demise. They're all dead." She looked back up at Seven with haunted eyes and added, "All of them. Gone."

"I'm sorry B'Elanna," Seven replied. She felt gratified that she honestly was. It made her feel more human that she could have empathy for others.

B'Elanna appeared as if she wanted to hit something. For a second Seven thought she might brush against the force field in frustration, but in the end, she simply sighed heavily to control her anger. "I'm still in denial," she eventually said. "I need to talk to Chakotay and the others, but so far, I haven't seen anybody after we were 'rescued'."

Seven wanted to talk to Chakotay as well, but felt ashamed of her answers during the interrogation. It was as if she was a Borg drone. She had betrayed him. What would he think of her? "What happened when we re-entered normal space?" she said, not wanting to think about that right now. "I lost consciousness as the Sphere was disintegrating and we got back to our escape pod, and woke up when being interrogated."

B'Elanna shrugged. "The Sphere broke apart during that last transdimensional shift. The sixty escape pods on the surface peeled way like the skin of an orange and scattered. We were shaken about pretty badly for a few minutes, but eventually our pod stabilized. We weren't able to contact any of the other pods when the first Star Fleet vessel arrived on scene. They must have detected the trans-warp signature and came to investigate."

"What happened next," Seven prodded.

"They started tractoring the pods into their shuttle bay. We were sorted – Star Fleet or Maquis. Spent some time waiting, and then I was questioned. You know the rest, and now I'm here."

Not just Star Fleet and Maquis. Seven had been sorted into a different category and was apparently treated much differently as well. "How long has it been?" Seven asked, keeping the other thoughts to herself.

B'Elanna shrugged. "Perhaps forty-eight hours. I don't know for certain." B'Elanna started examining the threshold of her cell, as if considering how she might escape. "What happens now is anyone's guess."

"Hágase tu voluntad," Seven muttered.

"What was that?" B'Elanna asked.

Seven had to think about it. "Something Chakotay's mother would say. It just popped into my head and seemed appropriate."

"I've heard Chakotay say it as well, at least when we were in the Maquis. Usually during a fight. Remind me what it means."

"It's in an Earth language, Spanish, and a portion of a prayer. It means, 'thy will be done.'"

"Thy will be done," B'Elanna repeated, turning the phrase over in her head. "Who's will?"

"For Chakotay's mother, the will of God," Seven replied. "For Chakotay, I think it was more undefined in his mind. Perhaps his Great Spirit."

B'Elanna grunted. "And what were you thinking?"

Seven shook her head. "I really don't know." She thought back to the break-up of the Sphere and how she and Chakotay had made it back to their quarters. Had they really been helped physically by someone or had it all been in her mind? And if only in her mind, was it just a fabrication of her imagination or a supernatural external influence? If the end result was the same, did it matter? Before she had a chance to express any of these thoughts, the ensign at the end of the room snapped to attention and another Star Fleet officer entered the brig area. He said a few words to the ensign and then moved forward towards Seven's cell. When he was just outside, the force field disengaged. "Seven of Nine, I'm here to escort you to your quarters," he said.

"Not to another interrogation?" B'Elanna snapped. There was venom in her voice and she looked as if she wanted to rip him to shreds. "Using truth serum on a civilian. Now that might be a first, even for Star Fleet. She has rights. I wonder what a Federation magistrate will have to say about your conduct."

The Star Fleet officer shook his head. "Not an interrogation," he confirmed, ignoring the threat. "She has been assigned quarters."

Seven stepped back and sat down on the bed. "I think I'll stay here until Lieutenant Torres is assigned quarters as well."

"She has," the officer replied calmly, and glanced back and forth between B'Elanna and Seven. "Someone will be here shortly to escort her there as well."

B'Elanna and Seven exchanged a look, and then Seven stood. "Very well," she said and stepped forward. She turned to B'Elanna and added, "We will see each other shortly, I'm sure."

B'Elanna didn't seem so sure herself, but nodded anyway.

Seven walked just behind the Star Fleet officer. When they left the brig, two security crewman who had been waiting outside fell into step behind her. The officer didn't feel it necessary to explain where they were going or why she was now being assigned quarters, and so they walked in silence. Two corridors and a turbo lift later, they arrived at a door. The Star fleet officer keyed in a code while the two security crewman positioned themselves on either side.

The door slid open and the officer stepped aside to let Seven pass. "You should have everything you need in there," he said. "For now, you're restricted to remain inside at all times."

Not much better than the brig, Seven thought, but stepped inside none the less. "Thank you."

The officer nodded and the doors slid shut.

Seven was alone. The quarters were small, although spacious when compared to the escape pod she shared with Chakotay. There was a single bed, a replicator, a table and chairs, and a small side room that held a wash basin and sonic shower. On one side of the bed she saw wires leading to the wall and a regeneration bracelet atop the pillow. She moved over to the side room and the mirror above the wash basin and assessed her appearance. They must have cleaned her up somewhat before taking her to the brig. No more dried blood on her hands or face. She was still in the same biosuit the Doctor had fashioned her. The biosuit was damaged from where she had been impaled during the original destruction of _Voyager_. The silver metallic sheen made her look less human and more Borg than she cared for.

Seven quickly extricated herself from the boots and biosuit she had been wearing for the past week. She again assessed herself in the mirror, her eyes drawn to the remaining Borg implants. When Chakotay looked at her, was that what he saw? She briefly looked at the scar on her belly and residual dry blood there, and then stepped into the sonic shower and undid her hair. The high-frequency sound waves separated the dead skin, dirt and dried blood from her hair and skin and it all fell to the shower floor where it was sucked into the drain by air pressure. It would be nice to take a water shower, but that was a luxury for another day. Either way, the Borg implants remained. On her arms. On her legs. Above her eye. This unwanted filth was harder to get rid of. When the cycle was complete, she moved over to the replicator and placed the biosuit inside. "Dispose," she said, and the suit disappeared, similar to being transported but of course not reconstituted on the other end. "Computer, replicate suitable clothes."

" _Please be more specific_. _Fabric, color, size, design._ "

Seven was uncertain how to proceed. "I don't know. Anything will suffice."

" _Please be more specific_. _Fabric, color, size, design._ "

Seven shook her head thinking how ridiculous it would be if she couldn't even clothe herself. "Cotton. Shades of green. My size. Pants and shirt." It was worth a try. Hopefully the computer could scan her to compute an appropriate size and the vagueness of the design was adequate. It took a moment, and then the requested clothes materialized within the replicator. She slipped into them quickly. The fabric was soft against her skin but did irritate her a little about her exposed Borg implants. Fortunately they were also loose fitting, and so comfortable enough. She forgot about footwear, but decided to remain barefoot for the time being.

She moved back and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her mind returned to the interrogation and the answers she had given to their questions about the Borg. As long as the Federation had no adequate defense, they would remain vulnerable. It was likely the Borg defeated Species 8472, but how this may have changed their timeline was unknown. The thought of the Borg returning to the Alpha Quadrant made her uncomfortable. Although of course, the Borg was still inside her, and here she was. Could that drone be reawakened again and turn against those close to her? Turn against Chakotay?

Seven stood back up and started pacing. She looked around her quarters. How was she going to occupy her time here? On _Voyager_ , that's how it all started. She had been alone in the cargo bay and the time passed by ever so slowly. She was unaccustomed to it. Sure, for the first six years of her life she had often been alone, but as a Borg drone, you were never alone. She had told Chakotay she was finding it difficult to spend so much time alone and he had obliged her request to work in engineering on creating a trans-warp conduit. They had now all made it back, and as Cathal had said, it was due to her. She couldn't know for certain, but somehow she sensed they had all survived. _Voyager_ had been destroyed, but they were now all back.

But… the Maquis were gone, the Federation was at war, and she was alone. At least she now had some memories worth remembering.

The door chime sounded startling Seven out of her thoughts. She turned to the door. "Enter."

The door slid open and Chakotay was standing on the threshold. He was holding a bundle under one of his arms. "May I come in?" he asked.

"Of course." Seven was both thrilled and apprehensive.

Chakotay turned to one the guards and nodded, and then stepped through. The door slid shut behind him. He was out of uniform and in what Seven presumed were Maquis style clothing. He was looking at her carefully, and before he said another word, Seven knew he knew. He knew of her interrogation. How much he knew was unknown. He stepped up closer. "Are you okay?"

Seven nodded, although she didn't fully believe it. She now knew there was a monster lying dormant within her mind. A Borg drone ready to assimilate her at the appropriate time.

Chakotay shook his head. "When the Captain found out, she was livid. She was already unhappy with the treatment of the Maquis crew, and what they did to you threw her over the edge. She has stopped cooperating. We all have."

"How did Star Fleet respond?"

Chakotay looked about the quarters. "I think they're trying to make amends," he said, gesturing to her accommodations. "But the local commander also relieved the Captain of duty."

"B'Elanna was right," Seven commented.

"What do you mean?"

"A bunch of pataks."

Chakotay smiled. It made Seven happy that he could still smile and that she could illicit such a response. It didn't change anything she had said during the interrogation. Did he know? Did he know what she was?

"I heard about the Maquis," Seven said, trying to push away her current thoughts. "I'm so sorry."

Chakotay rubbed his free hand over his face. "They didn't have a chance."

"You should talk to B'Elanna and the others," Seven said. "They need you now more than ever."

Chakotay nodded. "I know. I know. I'm getting that arranged right now." He frowned. "The Cardassians have allied themselves with Species 7995."

Seven's eyes widened. "What are they doing in the Alpha Quadrant?"

"The Bajoran wormhole," Chakotay replied. Of course. She should have guessed. If that were the case, Chakotay was right, the Maquis wouldn't have stood a chance. Indeed, it was likely the Federation was at grave risk. If it was war, the stakes were evidently high.

"The Captain has to reconsider," Seven said. "You should all cooperate. What we've learned with trans-warp using Federation technology could possibly be used in this war."

Chakotay raised his hand. "I don't think we need worry. An admiral from Star Fleet Command is on his way here. A friend of Kathryn's. I think things will get cleared up rather quickly when he arrives."

What will that mean for her, Seven wondered. Although B'Elanna and Vorik now had extensive knowledge about trans-warp, to expedite development she should be involved. And Chakotay too. She wanted to help in any way she could.

"Seven, I'd like to talk about _our_ future," Chakotay said.

This caught Seven a bit off guard. He had put particular emphasis on the word 'our.' Why did things have to change? If only they were back in the Delta Quadrant. Marooned, but together. "Are the quarters you've been assigned any better than mine?" Seven asked, attempting to change the subject.

Chakotay smiled and seemed somewhat embarrassed. He looked about and then placed what he was holding down on the small table by the door. Seven recognized it at once. It was his medicine bundle. He took a step closer to Seven. "To tell you the truth," he said. "That's exactly what I wanted to talk about. I was kind of hoping that these might be my quarters. With you."

"Oh?" Seven said, still trying to process this new bit of information. He must not know what had happened during the interrogation after all.

"Do you remember when I told you I felt I was missing something in my life?" Chakotay said and sighed. "It was you. I need you Seven. If you'll have me."

Seven backed up more until she reached the bed. She was both excited and frightened at Chakotay's confession and suggestion. In one respect, it was all quite sudden. They had only known each other for a few short weeks, and for a part of that time she was a Borg drone. And yet, a part of her felt such an arrangement was inevitable. But how could it be given what she was? He had to know the full truth. "You don't know what's inside me," she finally said. "The things I've done. The things I've said. I can't imagine you'd think the same way about me if you did."

Chakotay stepped towards her again, but now she couldn't back up any further. "You don't think I know what you've been through? What you have suffered and overcome? Of all the people in the universe, of course I know what's inside you. Just as you know what's inside me. We know each other better than anyone. How can we not?" He reached out and held her lightly on her shoulders. She shivered slightly at his touch. "I know exactly who you are and don't want to ever be apart from you again."

…

In that moment, I allow myself to let go of the past. I realize I need him too. It would be oh so easy to get wrapped in his embrace and never let go. Is it possible he needs me as he says? I see a yearning in his eyes that I'm certain is reflected in my own. These past weeks have been amazing and frightening and exciting and overwhelming. I can't imagine going back to who I was. Forgetting how I feel and my unspoken desires. I realize I can conquer the Borg drone inside me… with his help.

Hágase tu voluntad and thank you. I wrap my arms about his waist and draw him closer. I want him… and he is now mine.

#

Author's note: Hope you enjoyed. Please review.

Happy New Year!


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